John Hough (, born 21 November 1941) is a retired English film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. He is primarily known for his horror and suspense films of the 1970s and 1980s, including Twins of Evil (1971), The Legend of Hell House (1973), The Incubus (1982) and American Gothic (1988), as well as the 1974 action thriller Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry and the Walt Disney Studios productions Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and Return from Witch Mountain (1978). FilmInk characterized him as an "unsung auteur."
Career British TV After many credits as a second unit director on The Baron, The Avengers and The Champions, Hough took his first job as a director on the 1968 season of The Avengers, directing episodes such as "Super Secret Cypher Snatch" and "Homicide and Old Lace".
"ITC was a very special place to work in", he said later. "And the people cared. Instead of asking you to do it quicker and with less quality, they'd push you to excel yourself. It was creative and interesting, but very disciplined. It was like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel on a nine-to-five contract."
British films Hough's TV work led to a TV pilot for a proposed Robin Hood TV show, Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood in 1969. Even though the series never materialised, the pilot was picked up by Hammer Films, which distributed it theatrically.
"That one sank without trace", Hough recalled in the notes for his biography on the DVD of his 1980 film The Watcher in the Woods, "but in 1970 a Hollywood producer named Paul Maslanksy came over here looking for a new director to work on a remake of The Window (1949), in which a young boy is the sole witness to a murder and is then tracked down by the assassin."
The film Eyewitness (1970) was well received; Hammer then approached him to make the final film in its erotic vampire horror 'Karnstein' trilogy, Twins of Evil (1971).
Hollywood career Hough moved to Hollywood with the intention of making inroads to direct for Disney. While doing so, a new production company, Academy Pictures Corporation (started by former American International Pictures partner, James H. Nicholson), hired Hough to direct the low-budget action picture Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. The film was very successful in the summer of 1974, and helped open the doors to Disney, where Hough directed Escape to Witch Mountain which was successful and Watcher In The Woods.
Return to Britain Hough later directed three of the TV movies in the 1984 anthology series Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense.
He directed a series of films based on Barbara Cartland novels starting with A Hazard of Hearts.
He also directed Something to Believe In (1998) for Lew Grade.
Personal life Hough's son, Paul, is also a film director.
Filmography Film +YearTitleFunctioned asDirectorWriterProducer1969Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood1970Eyewitness1971Twins of Evil1972Treasure Island1973The Legend of Hell House1974Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry1975Escape to Witch Mountain1978Brass TargetReturn from Witch Mountain1980The Watcher in the Woods1981Incubus1983Triumphs of a Man Called Horse1986Biggles1988Howling IV: The Original NightmareAmerican Gothic1998Something to Believe In2001Bad Karma
Executive producer only What's a Carry On? (1998) Mr. Thunderbird: The Gerry Anderson Story (2000) The Backyard (2002) The Human Race (2013)
Television +YearTitleFunctioned asNotesDirectorWriterProducerOther1966–67The Baron2nd unit director; 29 episodes1968–69The AvengersDirector; 4 episodes2nd unit director; 29 episodesThe Champions2nd unit director; 15 episodes1972–74The Protectors5 episodes1974The Zoo Gang3 episodes1976The New AvengersEpisode: "Cat Amongst the Pigeons"1984Omnibus Episode: "Joan Littlewood's Lovely War"Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense3 episodes1986Dempsey and MakepeaceEpisode: "Extreme Prejudice"
TV movies and miniseries YearTitleFunctioned as Director Writer Producer 1985 Black Arrow 1987 A Hazard of Hearts 1989 The Lady and the Highwayman 1990 A Ghost in Monte Carlo 1991 Duel of Hearts
Unmade projects The Fan Club (1974) – for Lawrence Gordon at Columbia Pictures based on novel by Irwin Wallace. Poe – about Edgar Allan Poe (1976)
References
External links
John Hough at the British Film Institute John Hough profile at Den of Geek