[3] His other notable works included The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), Of Human Bondage (1964), Casino Royale (1967), and Cromwell (1970).
Hughes has been called "a filmmaker whose output was consistently interesting and entertaining, and deserved more critical attention than it has received.
[5] In 1941 he began making documentaries and short features;[6] he also made training films for the Ministry of Defence.
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).
[8] He shared an Emmy Award in 1959 for writing the television play Eddie (for Alcoa Theatre) which starred Mickey Rooney.
He wrote High Flight (1957) made by Warwick Films, producers Albert Broccoli and Irving Allen, who released through Columbia.
Warwick liked his work and hired Hughes to direct The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) with Peter Finch.
[5] It starred Richard Harris in the title role and Alec Guinness as Charles I, but was not a financial success.
[8] It meant he was unable to raise funds for a proposed film of Ten Days That Shook the World.
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.
[citation needed] He worked in the United States for the first time directing Mae West in her last film, Sextette (1978).
[3] 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).