Ken Hughes was a renowned writer and director who thrived in the 1950s and 1960s, continuing to direct films until the early 1980s. Born on January 19, 1922, in Liverpool, England, Hughes developed an early passion for filmmaking, winning an amateur movie-making contest at the tender age of 14.
Hughes' professional career began in 1952 with the release of his first feature film, the crime drama Wide Boy. By 1955, he was collaborating with American character actor Paul Douglas on the quirky Joe MacBeth, a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's tragedy.
This film led to Hughes directing more English pictures featuring imported Hollywood B-list stars, including Arlene Dahl and Victor Mature. In a reversal of the Atlantic trade, Hughes exported a script to the US, which was adapted into the TV movie Eddie, starring Mickey Rooney and directed by Jack Smight.
Hughes' favorite film was The Trials of Oscar Wilde, which earned him three BAFTA Award nominations and won the Samuel Goldwyn Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film at the Golden Globes.
During the 1960s, Hughes worked on A-List pictures, including the adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's book Of Human Bondage. However, it failed to surpass the Bette Davis-Leslie Howard classic of 30 years earlier.
Hughes also contributed to the cinematic mishmash Casino Royale, which was a box-office smash but a critical bomb. His greatest hit was the adaptation of Ian Fleming's children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which became a huge commercial success.
Despite his success, Hughes was dissatisfied with the film and went on to direct the historical epic Cromwell, which received good reviews but did not perform well at the box office.
The 1970s marked a decline in Hughes' career, with the low point being his direction of 83-year-old Mae West in the critical and commercial dud Sextette. He ended his career directing the exploitation film Night School, a slasher pic starring Rachel Ward.
After a period of declining health, Ken Hughes passed away on April 28, 2001, at the age of 79, leaving behind a legacy of memorable films.
