Rank, J(oseph) Arthur, 1st Baron Rank (1888–1972)

English film magnate. Having entered films in 1933 to promote the Methodist cause, by the mid-1940s he controlled, through the Rank Organization, half the British studios and more than 1,000 cinemas. The Rank Organization still owns the Odeon chain of cinemas, although film is now a minor part of its activities. He was created a baron in 1957.