He is best known for two of his novels, Private's Progress and Private Life, both of which were adapted into Boulting brothers films: the former as Private's Progress (1956); and the latter as I'm All Right Jack (1959). Hackney also co-wrote the script of I'm All Right Jack, which was a satire of trade unions.[3] He was also a frequent contributor to Punch.
In the 1960s the British film industry went into decline, and Hackney's career was never to hit such heights again. A further two children meant that he had to travel to write[citation needed] and he had spells in Canada, Italy (with the RAI TV series K 2 +1, directed by Luciano Emmer, starring the Kessler Sisters and Johnny Dorelli), and Hollywood as well as working for British television and continuing to contribute to Punch.
His success writing for the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood and the 1960 film Sword of Sherwood Forest enabled him to buy an Edwardian house in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire where he spent the rest of his life, first with his wife, Peggy until she died in 1995 and then later with the Canadian film producer Daisy de Bellefeuille, whom he nursed through a long illness until her death in 2006.[3]
Awards
Hackney shared a BAFTA for Best Screenplay of 1959 for "I'm All Right Jack".[5]
