English film director, writer and producer
Ken Hughes
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Born
| Kenneth Graham Hughes
(
1922-01-19
)
19 January 1922
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Died
| 28 April 2001
(2001-04-28)
(aged 79)
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Occupations
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Kenneth Graham Hughes
(19 January 1922 ? 28 April 2001)
[2]
was an English film director and screenwriter. He worked on over 30 feature films between 1952 and 1981, but is arguably best known for his 1968 musical fantasy film
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
, based on the
Ian Fleming
novel of the same name
.
[3]
His other notable works included
The Trials of Oscar Wilde
(1960),
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."
[4]
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Hughes was born in Yates St, Toxteth, Liverpool.
[1]
His family moved to London soon after. Hughes won an amateur film contest at age 14
[3]
and worked as a projectionist. When he was sixteen he went to work for the BBC as a technician and became a sound engineer.
[5]
In 1941 he began making documentaries and short features;
[6]
he also made training films for the Ministry of Defence. Hughes eventually returned to the BBC where he made documentaries.
Director
[
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]
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). 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).
[5]
Hughes received notice for
Joe MacBeth
(1955) a modernised re-telling of
Macbeth
set among American gangsters of the 1930s, but shot at
Shepperton Studios
in Surrey.
[7]
He shared an
Emmy Award
in 1959 for writing the television play
Eddie
(for
Alcoa Theatre
) which starred
Mickey Rooney
.
[1]
[8]
The later 1950s
[
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]
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 favourite among his films because he did not make any concessions in its production.
[3]
Career peak
[
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]
Hughes wrote and directed
The Small World of Sammy Lee
(1963),
[3]
based on Hughes's television play
Sammy
which had been broadcast by the BBC in 1958. Anthony Newley was the title lead in both playing a confidence trickster and gambler.
[3]
He directed episodes of the TV series
Espionage
(1964).
He replaced
Bryan Forbes
, who in turn had replaced
Henry Hathaway
as director of
Of Human Bondage
(1964), starring
Laurence Harvey
and
Kim Novak
. It was financed by
Seven Arts
who used Hughes on the
Tony Curtis
comedy
Drop Dead Darling
(1965). Hughes also wrote episodes for the TV series
An Enemy of the State
(1965). He was subsequently one of several directors who worked on the James Bond spoof
Casino Royale
(1967).
He co-wrote and directed
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
(1968) for producer Broccoli. Although it was a success at the box-office, it received a negative response from critics who objected to its sentimentality.
[9]
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".
[7]
Irving Allen
produced
Cromwell
(1970), a dream project of Hughes who called it the "best thing I've ever done".
[5]
It starred
Richard Harris
in the title role and
Alec Guinness
as
Charles I
, but was not a financial success.
[7]
It meant he was unable to raise funds for a proposed film of
Ten Days That Shook the World
.
[5]
In 1969 Hughes sold his company, Ken Hughes Productions, to Constellation Investments for the issue at par of 300,000 of 6 per cent convertible unsecured loan stock. The stock was deposited by the vendors as security for warranties that profits of Ken Hughes Productions during the next ten years would exceed £500,000 after corporations tax and be available to Constellation.
[10]
[11]
Later career
[
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]
Hughes directed
The Internecine Project
(1974) for
British Lion
and
Alfie Darling
(1975), a sequel to
Alfie
(1966); they both flopped.
[9]
He wrote and directed episodes of
Oil Strike North
(1975).
Hughes sold his production company for £300,000 in 1969, but encountered financial difficulties in the 1970s.
[12]
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.
[
citation needed
]
He worked in the United States for the first time directing
Mae West
in her last film,
Sextette
(1978).
[1]
His final film was the slasher movie
Night School
(1981), the film debut of
Rachel Ward
.
Personal life and death
[
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]
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.
[3]
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.
[3]
Critical appraisal
[
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]
Filmink
magazine did a profile on Hughes which argued "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."
[4]
Filmography
[
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]
Film
- 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) aka
The Greek Street Murder
- director, writer
- The House Across the Lake
(1954) aka
Heat Wave
- director, writer
- The Brain Machine
(1955) - director, writer
- Little Red Monkey
(1955) aka
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) aka
Portrait of Alisonr
- writer
- Wicked As They Come
(1956) aka
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) aka
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 film
- The Blazing Caravan
(1954) - writer, director
- Passenger to Tokyo
(1954) - director
- The Strange Case of Blondie
(1954) - writer, director
- Murder Anonymous
(1955) - director
Television
Novels
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Ken Hughes ? Film Director, 79"
.
The New York Times
. Associated Press. 2 May 2001
. Retrieved
23 February
2018
.
- ^
BFI
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Thurber, Jon (30 April 2001).
"Ken Hughes; Screenwriter and Director of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'
"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
23 February
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Vagg, Stephen (14 November 2020).
"Ken Hughes Forgotten Auteur"
.
Filmink
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Cromwell knocked about a bit
The Guardian 16 July 1970: 8.
- ^
Obituary
at
Variety
- ^
a
b
c
Bergan, Ronald (1 May 2001).
"Ken Hughes"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
23 February
2018
.
- ^
"Alfred Brenner"
. 17 August 2011
. Retrieved
23 February
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Ken Hughes"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. 1 May 2001
. Retrieved
23 February
2018
.
- ^
Hattersley?Steel Radiators Merger
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 1969
Publication: Financial Times (London, England) Issue: 24,768 p 15
- ^
Constellation's £300,000 buy
Author: Kenneth Fleet, City Editor Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 1969
Publication: The Daily Telegraph (London, England) Issue: 35391 p 3
- ^
Ken Hughes: [1F Edition]
The Times; London (UK) [London (UK)]02 May 2001: 19.
External links
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