J arthur rank biography of christopher

When you hear his name, what comes first to mind? The man hitting the gong to signify the start of an exciting film? The films themselves, those black and white classics, such as Brief Encounter or Great Expectations, or the early colour films?

Or perhaps the chain of Odeon cinemas?

J arthur rank biography of christopher

For many years the name of J. Arthur Rank was synonymous with British cinema.

And yet he started his career in film making relatively late, already in his forties when he made his first film. He was a member of a very wealthy Methodist flour milling family in Hull, the ‘Rank’ in Rank Hovis McDougall today, and after an unsuccessful business venture of his own worked for his father.

He developed an interest in film through his use of the medium in Sunday School teaching in which the Methodist Church was something of a pioneer. He soon saw the potential for reaching wider audiences and set to work making his own films, perhaps in part in response to a ‘put your money where your