Uncovering the sexy mystery man behind these classic British flicks

If you’re a fan of British cinema from roughly 1935 to 1960, you’ve probably noticed a head-scratching detail about these films. Nearly half of them open with an image of a buff, oiled-up muscle daddy striking a gong before the overlaid text appears announcing that what you’re about to see is a product of the J. Arthur Rank Organization. But before you’ve had time to fully take in and appreciate the man in all his glory, you’re onto the feature presentation. By the end of the film, the memory of that man has probably been all but erased from your mind.

Unless you’re me, in which case you’ve spent decades thinking about the Gongman: who is he? What’s his secret? How many times did he have to ring that gong? Was he a fan of the T. Rex hit, “Bang a Gong (Get It On)?”

Listen, I don’t have answers to most of these questions. But I do have answers to some of them.

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Our tale begins in the mid-1930s, when the British film industry starts coming into its own. When businessman J. Arthur Rank decided to invest his flour mill earnings into the film industry, he created The Rank Organization, a company where, for a time, independent British filmmakers on the level of David Lean, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger could put out thought-provoking masterpieces during the war years and beyond.

But before the company even began, they knew they’d need a logo, something eye-catching. At first, they thought they’d rival MGM’s famous Ars-Gratia-Artis lion by using a howling wolf. But for perhaps obvious reasons, that idea fell through. Eventually, they hit upon the very gay concept of the Gongman, a sexy muscle man clad in underwear and nothing else, banging a large gong.

The gongman wasn’t just one man—a series of men would take on the role throughout the company’s nearly 50-year history.

The first was a circus strongman named Carl Dane—not to be confused with the Danish silent actor Karl Dane, who killed himself in 1930. In 1932, the Rank Corporation found their first mascot when Dane was given twelve pounds to strip down, grease up (specifically in bronze body makeup to make his muscles pop) and strike the gong thrice. At 6 feet 5 inches, Dane was the perfect man for the job. He sat for five grueling hours while the hot lights caused the makeup to streak across his body, just so they could get the perfect shot. Later on, Dane became the first man to pull a London double-decker bus with his teeth, a kink I never knew I had until now.

But Dane wasn’t the only Gongman: by the late 30s, he’d been replaced by boxer “Bombardier” Billy Wells, in an updated color title sequence.

After the end of World War II, yet another Gongman was chosen, in the character of Phil Nieman, and finally, the Gongman to rule them all, heavyweight wrestler Ken Richmond, who serves as the most famous iteration of the Rank mascot.

Opening the archives this #NationalDayOfTheGong to view the Rank 'Gong Man' used at the start of all Rank films, many of which were #ShotAtPinewood. Four men have struck the gong that appeared on cinema screens – Carl Dane, Billy 'Bombardier' Wells, Phil Nieman & Ken Richmond. pic.twitter.com/P4Vz8YQRdK

— Pinewood Studios (@PinewoodStudios) June 21, 2022

Now I know what you’re thinking: did any of these people know how gay all this was? I can’t tell you. All I can say is that a lot of British men in suits spent a lot of time deciding that a naked, glistening man should strike a gong before every single feature presentation from 1935 to 1996. And honestly, they made a great choice.

The Gongman is an iconic symbol of British filmmaking, and also of general sexiness. Not only does the gongman exist to tell you that the film you’re about to watch—whether a Powell & Pressburger joint like The Red Shoes or a madcap installment of the “Carry On” series—is going to be very British.

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