Menahem Golan obit

Menahem Golan, Who Headed Cannon Films, Dies at 85

 

He was not on the list.

Menahem Golan, the colorful, free-spending Israeli-born producer and director whose Cannon Films yielded hundreds of productions starring the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris before going bust, died Friday in Israel, according to Haaretz. He was 85.

Golan, whose first name is sometimes spelled Menahem, was famous for his overblown pronouncements and business plans. He and his cousin, Yoram Globus, his partner for many years, started their U.S. career making fast-paced action exploitation titles starring Norris and Charles Bronson, among others. Then, in the ’80s, Golan and Globus headed the ill-fated public company Cannon Entertainment, which began spending more on films such as “A Cry in the Dark,” “Cobra,” “Sahara” (1983), “Over the Top” and “Bolero” with a wide range of actors including Stallone, Brooke Shields, Meryl Streep and Bo Derek.

For a decade Golan dominated the market portion of the Cannes Film Festival, booking hundreds of pages a day in trade papers and hoping to win acclaim for his films. In his 1987 book “Two Weeks in the Midday Sun,” Roger Ebert wrote, “Cannon’s historical failure to win the Palme d’Or was not through a lack of effort. The company has always been cheerfully schizo, announcing its art films with the same gusto it uses for its exploitation product.

By increasing the pics’ budgets, they also increased their risk, and met a fate similar to that of other international concerns such as Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar’s Carolco, which tried to crash mainstream Hollywood only to crash and burn.

After returning to Israel with creditors right behind him, Golan turned to the stage, producing Israeli versions of popular musicals like “The Sound of Music,” though he was not above seizing on an event like the murder of Italian designer Gianni Versace and quickly cranking out an exploitation film about it.

Shelley Winters, who worked on several Cannon Films, was said to have once compared the cousins to the old Hollywood moguls: “They’re like the old-style bastards. We hated them, but they loved films.”

After creating Noah Films, Golan began his own film directing career in 1963 with the Israeli film “El Dorado.” After producing the Oscar-nominated “Sallah Shabati” in 1964, he directed “Trunk to Cairo” and “Tevye and His Seven Daughters,” as well as several other films. His productions of “I Love You Rosa” and “The House on Chelouche Street” were also international critical successes. Globus joined Golan during this period, serving as the money man while his cousin was the promoter and creative force. They branched out into more international fare such as the gangster pic “Lepke,” the actioner “Operation Thunderbolt,” “Enter the Ninja,” “The Delta Force” and even artsier films like “Hanna’s War” and “Mack the Knife,” based on the Kurt Weill musical.

Golan-Globus Prods. specialized in low-budget films as well as multinational productions through Ameri-Euro Pictures. The pair spent $5 million and under, occasionally hitting paydirt with films including “The Happy Hooker.” But more often the films were low-budget action pics such as “Operation Thunderbolt,” about the Israeli raid to free hostages held by Palestinian terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

Via a number of moneymakers such as “The Happy Hooker” (1979), “Texas Chainsaw Massacre II,” “Lemon Popsicle” and its sequels and, later, “Death Wish II,” which cost $15 million and grossed more than $40 million, Golan and Globus bought Cannon Films in 1979. Slowly they became more ambitious, producing a film version of the hit Broadway drama “That Championship Season” (which was not a success) and star-driven projects like “The Wicked Lady,” with Faye Dunaway, in 1983 and “Runaway Train,” starring Jon Voight, in 1985.

Covering costs by selling off foreign territories, often based on just a poster before the films were shot, the Cannon Group went public, issuing a stock offering of $25 million. Golan, as chairman, and Globus, as president, went on a spending spree, paying for high-priced talent like Sylvester Stallone ($12 million for “Over the Top”) and Meryl Streep (“A Cry in the Dark”); artsy types like Barbet Schroeder (“Bar Fly”), John Cassavetes (“Love Streams”), Jean Luc Godard (“King Lear”) and Robert Altman (“Fool for Love”); and blockbuster-style projects like “Superman IV.” They also bought properties such as a chain of Midwestern theaters (Cannon already owned theaters in England and Holland) and Britain’s Thorn EMI and Elstree Studios.

Too often, the projects were foolhardy, such as the desert epic “Sahara,” starring Brooke Shields, or “Bolero,” with Bo Derek. The bubble burst in the late ’80s, and by 1987 the company was reporting a $98 million loss, with the SEC suspecting much book-cooking in the process. The stock plummeted from a high of $45 to $5, and a white knight was needed to continue. That man turned out to be the infamous Giancarlo Parretti, whose Pathe Communications bought 39% of the company. Shortly thereafter Golan and Globus split, and Golan left Cannon. It became part of the entire Credit Lyonnais imbroglio after the shifty Parretti bought MGM/UA, and the French bank eventually assumed all his properties.

Golan’s new company, 21st Century Pictures, formed in 1989, went belly up soon after, as did his subsequent banner, International Dynamic Pictures. The latter company was seized by creditors who also took over Golan’s home in Los Angeles.

Golan was born in Tiberias, Israel (then Palestine). He changed his last name from Globus during the 1948 War of Independence, when Israelis were encouraged to take Hebrew names. After serving in the Israeli Air Force, Golan began a career in the theater. He was an apprentice at the Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv and studied directing at the Old Vic School in London as well as the London Academy of Music and Drama. Returning home, he directed a number of theater productions and then became interested in Israel’s burgeoning film industry. He moved to New York to study filmmaking at NYU and then worked as an apprentice to Roger Corman, whose quickie, low-budget productions would serve as his filmmaking template.

After the seizures of his American assets, he moved back to Israel, where he continued his ways, producing theater (and getting into trouble with the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization for recording a stage production of “The Sound of Music” without its permission), and grabbing any opportunity to make a fast buck on an exploitation film. There was even a kind of rapprochement with his cousin, Globus.

His 1990s directing efforts included “Hit the Dutchman,” “Deadly Heroes,” “Superbrain,” “Russian Roulette — Moscow 95” and “The Versace Murder” (1998); in 2002 he helmed an adaptation of Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” that starred Crispin Glover, Vanessa Redgrave, John Hurt and Theodore Bikel but was never released in this country.

He made his final exploitation pic, “Final Combat,” in 2003 and spent the rest of the decade directing poorly reviews Israeli films even as that industry was coming into its own.

In November 2010 the Film Society of Lincoln Center held a retrospective called “The Cannon Films Canon,” attended by both Golan and Globus.

Documentary “The Go-Go Boys,” recounting Golan and Globus’ careers, played the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, while another documentary, “Electric Boogaloo,” also premieres this year.

He is survived by a wife and three children.

Filmography

Year     Title            Functioned as            Director           Notes

Director            Writer            Producer

1963    El Dorado            Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan            directorial debut

1964    Sallah Shabati No            Yes            Yes            Ephraim Kishon            Winner of Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, nominated Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Eight in the Footstep of One      Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Shemona B'Ekevot Ahat)

Dalia and the Sailors  Yes            No            No            Menahem Golan            (original title: Dalia Vehamalahim)

1965    Trunk to Cairo            Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Einer spielt falsch

1966    Fortuna            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Seduced in Sodom)

1967    Aliza Mizrahi Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: 999 Aliza: The Policeman)

1968    Tevye and His Seven Daughters            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Topele  Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Nes B'Ayara)

Commandos            No            Story            No            Menahem Golan            a.k.a. Sullivan's Marauders

1969    What's Good for the Goose  Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan         

My Margo            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Margo Sheli)

1970    Lupo!            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Attack at Dawn            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            (original title: Ha-Pritza Hagdola)

1971    The Highway Queen  Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Contract            Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan            (original title: Katz V'Carasso)

1972    I Love You Rosa            No            No            Yes            Moshé Mizrahi            Nominated Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Escape to the Sun      Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Great Telephone Robbery            Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan            (original title: Shod Hatelephonim Hagadol)

1973    The House on Chelouche Street   No            No            Yes            Moshé Mizrahi            Nominated Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Kazablan            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Daughters, Daughters            No            No            Yes            Moshé Mizrahi (original title: Abu el Banat)

1975    The Four Deuces            No            No            Yes            William H. Bushnell      

Diamonds            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            a.k.a. Diamond Shaft

Lepke  Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

1976    The Passover Plot            No            No            Executive         Michael Campus           

Tzanani Family            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            (original title: Mishpahat Tzan'ani)

Lupo Goes to New York            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            A sequel to Lupo!

God's Gun            No            No            Yes            Gianfranco Parolini            (original title: Diamante Lobo)

1977            Operation Thunderbolt            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan            Nominated Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Kid Vengeance            No            No            Yes            Joseph Manduke         

1978    Lemon Popsicle            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson         

The Uranium Conspiracy            No            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Alaska Wilderness Adventure            No            No            Yes            Fred Meader           

It's a Funny, Funny World            No            No            Yes            Tzvi Shissel  (original title: Yisraelim Matzhikim)

1979    The Swap   No            No            Yes            Jordan Leondopoulos            Re-edited from Sam's Song

Lemon Popsicle 2: Going Steady            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            First sequel to Lemon Popsicle

My Mother the General            No            No            Yes            Joel Silberg 

The Magician of Lublin            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Marriage Tel Aviv Style            No            No            Yes            Joel Silberg  (original title: Nisuin Nusah Tel Aviv)

1980    The Godsend            No            No            Executive            Gabrielle Beaumont     

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood            No            No            Yes            Alan Roberts            Final sequel to The Happy Hooker

Schizoid            No            No            Yes            David Paulsen

Seed of Innocence            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson         

Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype            No            No            Yes            Charles B. Griffith        

The Apple            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

New Year's Evil       No            No            Yes            Emmett Alston 

1981    Hot Bubblegum: Lemon Popsicle 3            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            Second sequel to Lemon Popsicle

Deathhouse            No            No            Yes            Theodore Gershuny     

Body and Soul            No            No            Yes            George Bowers           

Enter the Ninja            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Hospital Massacre            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            a.k.a. X-Ray

1982    Private Popsicle: Lemon Popsicle 4            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            Third sequel to Lemon Popsicle

Death Wish II            No            No            Yes            Michael Winner

Lady Chatterley's Lover   No            No            Executive         Just Jaeckin

The Last American Virgin   No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson            Remake of Lemon Popsicle

That Championship Season No            No            Executive         Jason Miller  

Mute Love            No            No            Yes            Joel Silberg  a.k.a. The Secret of Yolanda

1983    Private Manoeuvres            No            No            Yes            Tzvi Shissel  Spin-off of Lemon Popsicle and Private Popsicle: Lemon Popsicle 4

The Seven Magnificent Gladiators            No            No            Executive         Bruno Mattei 

Treasure of the Four Crowns            No            No            Executive            Ferdinando Baldi         

One More Chance No            No            Executive         Sam Firstenberg      

10 to Midnight            No            No            Executive         J. Lee Thompson       

Nana, the True Key of Pleasure            No            No            Yes            Dan Wolman          

House of the Long Shadows            No            No            Yes            Pete Walker

Hercules            No            No            Yes            Luigi Cozzi   

Young Warriors            No            No            Yes            Lawrence D. Foldes    

Revenge of the Ninja    No            Story            Yes            Sam Firstenberg            Sequel to Enter the Ninja

The Wicked Lady    No            No            Yes            Michael Winner            Remake of The Wicked Lady

1984    Baby Love: Lemon Popsicle 5            No            No            Yes            Dan Wolman            Sequel Lemon Popsicle

The Big Tease: Here Comes Another One            No            No            Yes            Yehuda Barkan and Yigal Shilon     

Over the Brooklyn Bridge  Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Sahara  No            Story            Yes            Andrew V. McLaglen           

Breakin'            No            No            Yes            Joel Silberg 

Making the Grade   No            No            Executive         Dorian Walker

Night Soldier            No            No            Yes            Dan Wolman          

The Naked Face     No            No            Yes            Bryan Forbes

Ordeal by Innocence            No            No            Executive            Desmond Davis          

I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes, the Man and His Work   No            No            Yes            Michael Ventura           

Sword of the Valiant  No            No            Yes            Stephen Weeks          

Love Streams            No            No            Yes            John Cassavetes      

Bolero  No            No            Executive         John Derek  

Exterminator 2            No            No            Executive         Mark Buntzman        

Ninja III: The Domination            No            No            Yes            Sam Firstenberg            Second sequel to Enter the Ninja

Forced Testimony            No            No            Yes            Raphael Rebibo          

Missing in Action  No            No            Yes            Joseph Zito     

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo            No            No            Yes            Sam Firstenberg            Sequel to Breakin'

1985    Up Your Anchor: Lemon Popsicle 6            No            No            Yes            Dan Wolman            Sequel Lemon Popsicle

Maria's Lovers            No            No            Executive         Andrei Konchalovsky 

Hot Resort            No            No            Yes            John Robins 

The Ambassador            No            No            Yes            J. Lee Thompson       

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning            No            No            Yes            Lance Hool    

Déjà Vu            No            No            Yes            Anthony B. Richmond 

The Assisi Underground            No            No            Yes            Alexander Ramati       

Rappin' No            No            Yes            Joel Silberg 

Grace Quigley            No            No            Yes            Anthony Harvey         

Hot Chili            No            Yes            Yes            William Sachs            screenplay credited as Jospeh Goldman

Lifeforce            No            No            Yes            Tobe Hooper           

Thunder Alley            No            No            Executive         J. S. Cardone          

Salomè No            No            Yes            Claude d'Anna

American Ninja            No            No            Yes            Sam Firstenberg      

Mata Hari            No            No            Executive         Curtis Harrington       

Hard Rock Zombies            No            No            Yes            Krishna Shah    

War and Love            No            No            Yes            Moshé Mizrahi

Invasion U.S.A. No            No            Yes            Joseph Zito     

The Adventures of Hercules            No            No            Yes            Luigi Cozzi    Sequel to Hercules

The Berlin Affair    No            No            Yes            Liliana Cavani 

Death Wish 3            No            No            Yes            Michael Winner

King Solomon's Mines   No            No            Yes            J. Lee Thompson       

Aladdin            No            No            Yes            Bruno Corbucci         

Fool for Love            No            No            Yes            Robert Altman

Runaway Train            No            No            Yes            Andrei Konchalovsky 

1986    The Lover   No            No            Yes            Michal Bat-Adam       

Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime)  No            No            Yes            Lina Wertmüller      

The Delta Force   Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Naked Cage    No            No            Executive         Paul Nicholas          

Field of Honor            No            No            Yes            Kim Dae-hie and Hans Scheepmaker  

America 3000            No            No            Yes            David Engelbach        

P.O.W. the Escape No            No            Yes            Gideon Amir    

Murphy's Law            No            No            Executive         J. Lee Thompson       

Pirates  No            No            Yes            Roman Polanski          

Dangerously Close   No            No            Executive         Albert Pyun    

Cobra  No            No            Yes            George P. Cosmatos    

Invaders from Mars    No            No            Yes            Tobe Hooper           

Lightning, the White Stallion            No            No            Yes            William A. Levey         

Detective School Dropouts            No            No            Yes            Filippo Ottoni   a.k.a. Dumb Dicks

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2            No            No            Yes            Tobe Hooper           

Otello   No            No            Yes            Franco Zeffirelli           

Avenging Force            No            No            Yes            Sam Firstenberg      

52 Pick-Up            No            No            Yes            John Frankenheimer 

Castaway            No            No            Yes            Nicolas Roeg   

Firewalker            No            No            Yes            J. Lee Thimpson        

Duet for One            No            No            Yes            Andrei Konchalovsky 

1987    Young Love: Lemon Popsicle 7            No            No            Yes            Walter Bannert            Sequel Lemon Popsicle

Million Dollar Madness            No            Yes            Yes            Naftali Alter    

Dutch Treat            No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson         

Assassination            No            No            Executive         Peter R. Hunt           

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold     No            No            Yes            Gary Nelson Sequel to King Solomon's Mines

The Assault            No            No            Executive         Fons Rademakers            Won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Over the Top            Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Number One with a Bullet            No            No            Yes            Jack Smight 

The Barbarians            No            No            Yes            Ruggero Deodato       

Down Twisted            No            No            Yes            Albert Pyun    

Street Smart            No            No            Yes            Jerry Schatzberg      

The Hanoi Hilton   No            No            Yes            Lionel Chetwynd        

Beauty and the Beast    No            No            Yes            Eugene Marner

Rumpelstiltskin            No            No            Yes            David Irving   

American Ninja 2: The Confrontation            No            No            Yes            Sam Firstenberg            Sequel to American Ninja

Diary of a Mad Old Man            No            No            Executive         Lili Rademakers    

The Emperor's New Clothes            No            No            Yes            David Irving   

Too Much            No            No            Yes            Éric Rochat

Three Kinds of Heat     No            No            Yes            Leslie Stevens           

Sleeping Beauty  No            No            Yes            David Irving   

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace   No            No            Yes            Sidney J. Furie

Masters of the Universe            No            No            Yes            Gary Goddard         

Penitentiary III            No            No            Yes            Jamaa Fanaka

Mascara            No            No            Executive         Patrick Conrad

King Lear            No            No            Yes            Jean-Luc Godard     

Tough Guys Don't Dance            No            No            Yes            Norman Mailer           

Dancers            No            No            Yes            Herbert Ross    

Surrender            No            No            Executive         Jerry Belson 

Barfly   No            No            Executive         Barbet Schroeder       

Business as Usual    No            No            Yes            Lezli-An Barrett       

Under Cover            No            No            Yes            John Stockwell        

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown            No            No            Executive         J. Lee Thompson       

1988            Summertime Blues: Lemon Popsicle VIII            No            No            Yes            Reinhard Schwabenitzky

Braddock: Missing in Action III            No            No            Yes            Aaron Norris 

Going Bananas            No            Yes            Yes            Boaz Davidson         

Alien from L.A.            No            No            Yes            Albert Pyun    

Bloodsport            No            No            Yes      Newt Arnold   

Appointment with Death            No            No            Executive         Michael Winner

Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation            No            No            Executive            Godfrey Reggio          

Shy People            No            No            Yes            Andrei Konchalovsky 

Salsa    No            No            Yes            Boaz Davidson         

The Frog Prince   No            No            Yes            Jackson Hunsicker     

Puss in Boots            No            No            Yes            Eugene Marner

Journey to the Center of the Earth    No            No            Yes            Rusty Lemorande and Albert Pyun     

Hero and the Terror  No            No            Executive         William Tannen

Messenger of Death   No            No            Yes            J. Lee Thompson       

Doin' Time on Planet Earth            No            No            Yes            Charles Matthau           

Platoon Leader            No            No            Yes            Aaron Norris 

Evil Angels            No            No            Yes            Fred Schepisi           

Hanna's War            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Hansel and Gretel   No            No            Yes            Len Talan   

Haunted Summer            No            No            Executive         Ivan Passer 

1989    Snow White   No            No            Yes            Michael Berz    

Manifesto            No            No            Yes            Dušan Makavejev      

Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects            No            Yes            Executive         J. Lee Thompson       

Red Riding Hood   No            No            Yes            Adam Brooks

Cyborg No            No            Yes      Albert Pyun     

Caged Fury            No            No            Executive         Bill Milling 

Mack the Knife            Yes            Yes            Executive            Menahem Golan         

Masque of the Red Death            No            No            Executive         Alan Birkinshaw      

The Black Cat            No            No            Executive         Luigi Cozzi   

1990    Night of the Living Dead    No            No            Executive         Tom Savini  

The Forbidden Dance  No            Story            Executive            Greydon Clark

Bad Jim            No            No            Executive         Clyde Ware   

The Appointed            No            No            Executive         Daniel Wachsmann     

The 5th Monkey            No            No            Executive         Éric Rochat

Captain America            No            No            Yes            Albert Pyun    

Bullseye!            No            No            Executive         Michael Winner

1991    Naked Robot 4 1/2            No            No            Executive         Philip J. Cook  

Virgin High            No            No            Executive         Richard Gabai  

Killing Streets            No            Story            Executive            Stephen Cornwell       

1992    Hit the Dutchman            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Finest Hour    No            No            Yes            Shimon Dotan  

Mad Dog Coll            No            No            Yes            Greydon Clark

Dance Macabre (film)            No            No            Yes            Greydon Clark

Hot Under the Collar   No            No            Executive         Richard Gabai  

Desert Kickboxer            No            No            Executive         Isaac Florentine        

Three Days to a Kill    No            No            Executive         Fred Williamson       

1993    Silent Victim  Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Deadly Heroes            Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan         

Midnight Witness            No            No            Executive         Peter Foldy  

Rage    No            No            Executive            Anthony Maharaj        

Emmanuelle 7            No            No            Executive         Francis Leroi   

Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde            No            No            Executive         John Shepphird        

Dead Center            No            Story            Executive         Steve Carver 

1994    Death Wish V: The Face of Death            No            No            Executive         Allan A. Goldstein    

Stickfighter            No            No            Executive         BJ Davis   

1995    Russian Roulette: Moscow 95            Yes            No            No            Menahem Golan         

Luise and the Jackpot            Yes            No            No            Menahem Golan         

1996            Superbrain [de]            Yes            No            No            Menahem Golan         

1998    Lima: Breaking the Silence Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Armstrong            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

The Versace Murder Yes            Yes            No            Menahem Golan         

1999            Speedway Junky            No            No            Executive            Nickolas Perry

2001    Death Game   Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

2002    Crime and Punishment            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Return from India     Yes            No            Yes            Menahem Golan         

2003    Final Combat            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

2005    Days of Love    Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

2007    A Dangerous Dance  Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

Children of Wax     No            Yes            Yes            Ivan Nitchev           

2008            Marriage Arrangement            Yes            Yes            Yes            Menahem Golan         

2009    Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!            No            Yes            No            Evgeny Afineevsky