Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988) was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of the most significant figures in the British film industry, particularly in his capacity as head of Anglo-Amalgamated and EMI Films; he helped finance the first Carry On movies and early work of filmmakers such as Ken Loach, John Schlesinger, Alan Parker and David Puttnam. In the early 1970s while head of EMI Films he was called the most powerful man in the British film industry. He's been called "an unsung giant of British film who never got his due from the establishment in part because of (possibly unconscious) anti-Semitism... the ability to be a successful studio head is very rare and most only last a few years. Cohen did it successfully at various companies for over two decades."
Early life
Cohen was the son of a kosher butcher from the east end of London who was president of the Jubilee Street synagogue. 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 LCV school and then joined his father's business.
Cinema owner
In 1932, Cohen bought a 650-seat cinema, the Savoy, in Teddington. Over three years he built up a circuit of three cinemas in London and four in the regions. One of the cinemas was the Mile End Empire, where Cohen ran talent quests before the movies commenced; among the artists who featured were a young Tommy Trinder and Bernard Delfont.
Cohen then turned to distribution, starting with re-releases of the Hal Roach comedies.
During World War II, Cohen distributed and exhibited military instruction films in England. His wife and daughter were sent to stay with his friend Sam Goldwyn.
Anglo Amalgamated
With Stuart Levy he co-founded Cohen and Levy Films in 1945 which eventually became Anglo-Amalgamated. His first film was an £800 documentary called Horse and Country.
Cohen produced some films with Dan Angel that were directed by Val Guest, Mystery at the Burlesque (1949) and Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1949).
Early features
Anglo-Amalgamated began to produce half hour featurettes at a cost of £10,000 then moved into features. Their early films included Ghost Ship (1952), Crow Hollow (1952), and Wide Boy (1952). They started to make films with American stars such as Street of Shadows (1953) which had Cesar Romero. They also had success with comedies such as Glad Tidings (1953).
Cohen's first film of note was The Sleeping Tiger (1954), starring Alexis Smith and Dirk Bogarde, and directed by Joseph Losey, an American expatriate making the first of many movies in Britain. Cat Girl (1957) began relationship between Anglo-Amalgamated and American International Pictures. The relationship with AIP resulted in Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), Circus of Horrors (1960), and Konga (1961).
Box-office success
Cohen had a big box office success with The Tommy Steele Story (1957), one of the most popular movies of the year in Britain. They followed it with The Duke Wore Jeans (1958).
Even more popular was Carry On Sergeant (1958), a huge box office success in Britain and very profitable due to its low cost. It led to a series of films: Carry On Nurse (1959) was even more popular,
For the company, he produced Peeping Tom and The Criminal (both 1960), the former, now highly regarded, was badly received 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.
In 1962 Associated British Picture Corporation bought 50% of Anglo Amalgamated. Cohen became a director of them in 1969.
Associated British and EMI Films
Anglo Amalgamated were majority owned by ABPC. Cohen joined the board of Associated in March 1969. Cohen continued to have his own unit. Among the films made by Associated British-Anglo Amalgamated were: Spring and Port Wine - this would be the first film issued under the EMI banner The Body Entertaining Mr Sloan All the Way Up - co pro with Granada Films Eyewitness - with Associated Television Corporation Eventually Associated British were taken over by EMI Films and Cohen's unit became Anglo-EMI.