Nat Cohen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)[1] was a British film producer whose career started in the 1930s when he was 25.

Early Career

Cohen was the son of a kosher butcher from the east end of London who was president of the Jubilee Street synagogue.[1] He was the only son with one elder sister. Cohen's parents had emigrated from Poland in the early 1900s and his father was a silent partner in a cinema in the east end. Cohen attended a local LOC school and then joined his father's business.[2]

In 1932 Cohen bought a 650 seat cinema, the Savoy, in Teddington. Over three years he built up a circuit, three cinemas in London and four in the provinces.[2] He then turned to distribution, starting with re-releases of Hal Roach comedies.[3] During World War II he distributed and exhibited military instruction films in England.

Anglo Amalgamated

With Stuart Levy he co-founded Cohen and Levy Films in 1945 which eventually became Anglo-Amalgamated.

For the company, he produced Peeping Tom and The Criminal (both 1960), the former now highly regarded was controversial at the time of its release. He greenlit some of the most important British films of the 1960s, including early feature films directed by John Schlesinger, John Boorman, and Ken Loach.[4]

EMI Films

Anglo Amalgamated were majority owned by ABPC, who were taken over by EMI Films. Cohen joined the board of EMI and was put in charge of his own independent unit, Anglo-EMI.[5] The actual head of EMI at the time was Bryan Forbes but Cohen had autonomy. Cohen:

Right from the start of Bryan Forbes joining the company, there was a sharp distinction between his films and mine. If Bryan had a cocktail party to announce his programme, then I had a cocktail party a few weeks later for mine, too. I had all I needed to keep me at full strength.[6]

Among the films Cohen made for Anglo-EMI incuded Get Carter, Percy, and several big screen adaptations of popular TV series. On the whole Cohen's movies for EMI outperformed those of Bryan Forbes.[7] They were less well received critically, although Cohen's unit was the one that initiated the highly acclaimed The Go-Between (1971).

Following the resignation of Forbes, Cohen became overall head of production for EMI. This meant he was in charge of Anglo-EMI Film Distributors, Anglo-EMI Films, and Anglo Southern Film Music Publishing.

In 1973 Cohen was described as "the most powerful man in the British film industry and almost the final arbiter of film taste in this country. No single man in Hollywood at its zenith held as much power. Nat Cohen not only finances productions but also distributes and exhibits. One American producer cracked that that he wouldn't be surprised if Cohen didn't also own the popcorn concessions."[2]

That year Cohen estimated he was involved in 70% of films made in Britain that year; other figures put this at 50%. He also claimed that 95% of the films he had been involved with had made money. "It's bad for the film industry that I'm the only man making films," he said. "Because of this I don't really enjoy my power. I need competition and it's important there's competition if the industry is to survive."[2]

Cohen's best known and most successful film from this period was Murder On the Orient Express (1974), which Cohen says was his idea.[8] This enabled Cohen to fund a slate of new films worth £6 million, including To the Devil, a Daughter, Seven Nights in Japan, and Spanish Fly.[9]

In 1976 EMI bought out British Lion and their management wound up running EMI.[10][11] Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings became managing directors of EMI while Cohen became executive chairman.[12] He retired from this position at the end of 1977 to become a consultant.[13]

Cohen stayed at EMI for a number of more years, a period he described as "an awkward stage... not quite sure where I was supposed to be; and rarely finding people available when I wanted to consult them. A delicate situation."[14] During this time EMI made some expensive failures including Honky Tonk Freeway and Can't Stop the Music, none of which involved Cohen. "I suppose you could sum it up this way," he said later, "I was very fortunate that as these costly deals were being made, I seemed to be losing control of picture making in the company."[15] Michael Deeley however claimed that Cohen committed $1 million of EMI's money for the flop Roar.[16]

Race Horse Owner

With the success of his film company, Cohen was able to become a race horse owner. His blue colours with white diamond, hooped sleeves and amber cap were carried to victory by Kilmore in the 1962 Grand National.[17][18][1] He also owned the champion horse Anglo.[19]

Personal Life

Cohen died in hospital after suffering of a heart attack. He was predeceased by a wife and a daughter who both died of cancer; he was survived by another daughter.[20]

Appraisal

In 1974 a profile of Cohen described him as:

A more urbane version of the one-man-bands who used to boss the studios in Hollywood's heyday of the movie moguls. An impresario, a bon vivant, a racehorse owner with many winds in his stable, he applies the lessons of the turf to the film industry when he affirms that 'there is no such thing as playing safe' and describes himself as 'a gambler, but an extremely cautious one. Never reckless. I gamble when the odds are in my favour, not simply on hunches. I back judgement, not luck. But, ultimately, gamble I've got to... when the proposition has merit, I put it into effect without delay. I made the decision on a combination of the project and the individual who brings it to me.'[21]

Cohen said of himself:

Making films is no different from the manufacture of shoes or any other product... My job is to entertain the public and if I can commercialism and art, all the better. But I have to remember they have other means of entertainment and a limited amount of money... Films are a pure gamble and I always try to bet with the odds in my favour. It's not so much the film one gambles on as the people making it.[2]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.) The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 NAT KING COHEN: To the cinema-going public he is the name at the start of the credits, But to the industry he is a dominant force in production, dustribution, and exhibition Murari, Tim. The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 17 Nov 1973: 9.
  3. ↑ A mogul's farewell Pulleine, Tim. The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 11 Feb 1988: 12.
  4. ↑ Anglo Amalgamated Productions at Screenonline
  5. ↑ Shot in Arm for British Film Industry Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 29 Nov 1969: a9.
  6. ↑ Walker 1985 p 114
  7. ↑ City comment: Soon the darkness The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 08 Mar 1971: 12.
  8. ↑ Walker 1985 p 129
  9. ↑ Walker 1985 p 141
  10. ↑ Acquisition of B Lion The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 19 May 1976: 18.
  11. ↑ Boost for studios The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 09 July 1975: 5.
  12. ↑ The final fade-out for British Lion Barker, Dennis. The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 14 May 1977: 2.
  13. ↑ FILM CLIPS: 'The Body Snatchers' Moves Up Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 22 Oct 1977: c11.
  14. ↑ Walker 1985 p 207
  15. ↑ Walker 1985 p 207
  16. ↑ Michael Deeley Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies, Pegasus Books 2009, p 142
  17. ↑ Kilmore sold to film producer The Irish Times (1921-Current File) [Dublin, Ireland] 25 Feb 1961: 3.
  18. ↑ Findon Village; The Kilmore club
  19. ↑ Carry on Anglo Malcolm, Derek. The Guardian (1959-2003) [London (UK)] 28 Mar 1966: 7.
  20. ↑ British film producer Nat Cohen Chicago Tribune (1963-Current file) [Chicago, Ill] 11 Feb 1988: B20.
  21. ↑ Walker p 111
  • Walker, Alexander, Hollywood England Stein and Day, 1974
  • Walker, Alexander, National Heroes, Harrap, 1985

External links

Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.