J. Arthur Rank

the long version

"J. Arthur Rank must be one of the best known names but most unknown personalities of the twentieth century. Rank is the name behind 'the man with the gong' that heralded so many movies of the golden age of British cinema. It's the same Rank in Rank Hovis McDougal, Rank Xerox and the mighty Rank Organization. His business empire was enormous and his wealth untold, but in a century of sleaze he apparently survived with his integrity intact and his faith uncompromised." "The motivation that lay behind this unlikely movie mogul was a desire to convert the nation to Christianity. Michael Wakelin explores his strong but simple faith, his love of flour, films and family life and tells for the first time how this extraordinary man balanced running two mammoth business empires with teaching at Sunday School almost every week of his adult life." "The author, a senior producer at the BBC, gained unique access to Lord Rank's family, who had previously refused all such contacts, for a Radio 4 documentary in 1988. Having won their confidence, he gained their agreement to help him in the writing of this biography, making it a unique account of this much admired but little known man."--Jacket.