Gongman

The Gongman (also known as the "man-with-the-gong") is a company trademark for the Rank Organisation. It was used as the introduction to all Rank films, many of which were created at their Pinewood Studios. The Gongman logo was first used on films distributed by General Film Distributors, which was established in 1935 by the British producer C. M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank; it was C.M. Woolf's secretary who devised the man-with-a-gong trademark. When the Rank Organisation was established in 1937, with General Film Distributors as one of its cornerstones, the logo was adopted for the whole organisation.

The Gongman film logo sequence depicts a man striking a huge gong with a deep resonant sound. The gongs used in the films were props made of plaster or papier-mâché, with the sound of the gong done by James Blades on a Chinese instrument called a tam tam. During the sequence, the text "General Film Distributors", " J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors", "J. Arthur Rank presents" or "'The Rank Organisation" appeared over the gong.

Athletes who played the Gongman in the film sequence over the years, included boxer Bombardier Billy Wells and wrestler Ken Richmond. Also, George Francis Moss Snr played the Gongman. In 2012, to celebrate the Gongman's 75th anniversary, The Rank Group, the gaming company that in 1996 acquired the remaining business interests of Rank Organisation as well as the rights to its logo and name, announced a nationwide competition to find a new Gongman or woman for the 21st century.

The Gongman was often parodied. In Carry On up the Khyber, Kenneth Williams' character refers to an over-enthusiastic gongman's attitude as "rank stupidity". The opening to the ATV Thursday Picture Show used an animated version. According to Sub-TV, which has a video of the opening, "the gong-smasher here is a non-muscley man in an old-fashioned swimming costume and a cloth cap!" The man whacks an ATV logo, not a gong, and the logo smashes into pieces.

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