Ken Hughes

Kenneth Graham Hughes (19 January 1922 – 28 April 2001) was an English film director and screenwriter. He worked on over 30 feature films between 1952 and 1981, including the 1968 musical fantasy film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. His other notable works included The Trials of Oscar Wilde, Of Human Bondage (1964), Casino Royale (1967), and Cromwell (1970). He was an Emmy Award winner and a three-time BAFTA Award nominee.

Hughes has been called "a filmmaker whose output was consistently interesting and entertaining, and deserved more critical attention than it has received."

Early life and career Hughes was born in Yates St, Toxteth, Liverpool.

In 1941 he began making documentaries and short features; he also made training films for the Ministry of Defence. Hughes eventually returned to the BBC where he made documentaries.

Director Hughes's first film as director was the "B" movie Wide Boy (1952). He did a short feature, The Drayton Case (1953), which became the first of Anglo-Amalgamated's Scotland Yard film series (1953-61), and several of the later installments including The Dark Stairway (1953) and Murder Anonymous (1955). (Hughes was one of Anglo's key early directors. ) He did Black 13 (1954) then made The House Across the Lake (1954) for Hammer Films, based on Hughes's own novel.

He made The Brain Machine (1955), Little Red Monkey (1955), and Confession (1955). Timeslip (1955) was science fiction. He was one of several writers on The Flying Eye (1955) and Portrait of Alison (1955).

The later 1950s Hughes made some films for Columbia: Wicked as They Come (1956), and The Long Haul (1957). He wrote High Flight (1957) made by Warwick Films, producers Albert Broccoli and Irving Allen, who released through Columbia. For British TV he wrote episodes of Solo for Canary (1958).

For Warwick Films, he directed two films with Anthony Newley, Jazz Boat (1960) and In the Nick (1960). Warwick liked his work and hired Hughes to direct The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) with Peter Finch. It was well received, and was Hughes's favourite among his films because he did not make any concessions in its production. It was a project he did not enjoy working on: "The film made a lot of money, but that doesn't really make me feel any better about it. On the other hand, I've made pictures that got awards at Berlin and places, and didn't make any money, and that doesn't make me feel any better either."

Irving Allen produced Cromwell (1970), a dream project of Hughes who called it the "best thing I've ever done".

Later career Hughes directed The Internecine Project (1974) for British Lion and Alfie Darling (1975), a sequel to Alfie (1966); they both flopped. In July 1975 he declared bankruptcy. He told the London Bankruptcy Court he earned £44,177 in 1968 and £47,960 in 1969 but nothing in 1970. "The film industry collapsed," said Hughes. "It has not recovered yet." He had debts of £32,277 and had to sell his house to pay creditors. Hughes attributed his financial situation to paying maintenance to two wives and an inability to reduce expenses. He was also hit by a tax bill.

He worked in the United States for the first time, directing Mae West in her last film, Sextette (1978).

His final film was the slasher movie Night School (1981), the film debut of Rachel Ward.

Personal life and death Hughes had three marriages, to two women. From 1946 to 1957, he was married to Charlotte Epstein. From 1970 to 1976, he was married to Cherry Price, with whom he had a daughter Melinda, an opera singer. The marriage was dissolved in 1976, and Hughes remarried his first wife in 1982. They were married when Hughes died from complications from Alzheimer's disease. He had been living in a nursing home in Panorama City in Los Angeles. Critical appraisal Filmink magazine profiled Hughes, arguing that "he was a very “ups and downs” kind of guy with a solid overall average: the maker of a genuine classic (Trials of Oscar Wilde), a handful of terrific movies (Long Haul, Joe MacBeth, Wide Boy) and some films that have splendid things in them (Small World of Sammy Lee, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and yes, Casino Royale). He also made movies that were dull (Cromwell), dire (Alfie Darling), disappointing (Timeslip) and in one case, beyond belief (Sextette). He clearly worked best when attached to a feisty little production company with strong Hollywood links."

Filmography Feature films

Sammy (1952) - writer Wide Boy (1952) - director The Drayton Case (1953) - director, writer The Missing Man (1953) - writer, director The Candlelight Murder (1953) - writer, director Black 13 (1953) - director, writer The Dark Stairway (1953) The Greek Street Murder - director, writer The House Across the Lake (1954) a.k.a. Heat Wave - director, writer The Brain Machine (1955) - director, writer Little Red Monkey (1955) a.k.a. Case of the Red Monkey - director, writer Night Plane to Amsterdam (1955) - director Confession (a.k.a., The Deadliest Sin, 1955) - director, writer Timeslip (a.k.a. The Atomic Man, 1955) - director The Flying Eye (1955) - writer Joe MacBeth (1955) - director, writer Postmark for Danger (1955) a.k.a. Portrait of Alison - writer Wicked As They Come (1956) a.k.a. Portrait in Smoke - director, writer Town on Trial (1957) - writer The Long Haul (1957) - director, writer High Flight (1957) - writer Sammy (1958) - producer, writer, director Solo for Canary (1958) - writer Jazz Boat (1960) - director, writer The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) - director, writer In the Nick (1960) - director, writer The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963) - director, writer Of Human Bondage (1964) - director Drop Dead Darling (1966) a.k.a. Arrivederci, Baby! - director, producer, writer Casino Royale (1967) - director, writer Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) - director, writer Shark! (1969) - writer Cromwell (1970) - director, writer Sammy (1972) - writer The Internecine Project (1974) - director Fall of Eagles (1974) - writer Alfie Darling (1975) - director, writer Sextette (1978) - director Night School (1981) - director

Short films

The Blazing Caravan (1954) - writer, director Passenger to Tokyo (1954) - director The Strange Case of Blondie (1954) - writer, director Murder Anonymous (1955) - director

Television

Alcoa Theatre (1958) - writer episode "Eddie" Espionage (1964) - writer, director An Enemy of the State (1965) - writer Colditz (1972) - writer Menace (1973) - writer Dial M for Murder (1974) - writer Oil Strike North: Deadline (1975) - episode "Deadline" - writer

Novels The Long Echo (1955)