Along Came Jones (film)

Along Came Jones
Along Came Jones
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	Stuart Heisler
Written by	Nunnally Johnson; Alan Le May (novel)
Produced by	Gary Cooper; Walter Thompson (assoc. producer)
Starring	Gary Cooper; Loretta Young; Dan Duryea; William Demarest
Cinematography	Milton R. Krasner
Edited by	Thomas Neff
Music by	Arthur Lange
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates	June 20, 1945 (Premiere-Dallas); July 15, 1945 (U.S.);
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Along Came Jones is a 1945 Western comedy film starring Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest, and Dan Duryea, in which Cooper mercilessly spoofs his own slow-talking cowboy persona. The movie was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the novel Useless Cowboy by Alan Le May, and directed by Stuart Heisler.

Much of the movie was shot at the widely filmed Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif. This was the only feature film produced by Cooper during his long movie career, and he had roots at Iverson, having worked there in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) and other productions. Cooper had a Western town built at the movie ranch for Along Came Jones, which was then used in many other productions during the next 10-plus years and became a fixture in B-Westerns in particular.

Plot

Easygoing Melody Jones (Gary Cooper) and his friend George Fury (William Demarest) wander into a town. Jones is mistaken for a wanted bandit named Monte Jarrad (Dan Duryea), which causes him no end of trouble. Meanwhile, the real Jarrad is hiding out in the home of his girl, Cherry de Longpre (Loretta Young). At first, she tries to use the newcomer to distract the townsfolk, but as she gets to know Jones, her feelings start to change.

Cast

Gary Cooper as Melody Jones
Loretta Young as Cherry de Longpre
William Demarest as George Fury
Dan Duryea as Monte Jarrad
Frank Sully as Avery de Longpre
Don Costello as Leo Gledhill
Walter Sande as Ira Waggoner
Russell Simpson as Pop de Longpre
Arthur Loft as Sheriff
Willard Robertson as Luke Packard
Ray Teal as Kriendler
Lane Chandler as Boone

Radio adaptation

Along Came Jones was presented on This Is Hollywood December 28, 1946. Janet Blair and Joel McCrea starred in the adaptation.^[2]

In popular culture

The film's ironic title probably inspired the popular 1959 Coasters song "Along Came Jones" written by Leiber and Stoller; songwriter Mike Stoller had studied orchestration under Arthur Lange, the composer of the film's score.

In the film Cooper sings the song 'I'm a poor lonesome cowboy', which would later be used as the signature song of Lucky Luke in the eponymous comics series by René Goscinny and Morris. ^[3] ^[4]

References

^ "Along Came Jones: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
^ "'Hollywood' Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. December 21, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/10/12/een-stille-revolutionair-4786802-a1526307
^ https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/morris.htm

External links

[1] "Along Came Jones: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.

[2] "'Hollywood' Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. December 21, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] ttps://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/10/12/een-stille-revolutionair-4786802-a1526307

[4] ttps://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/morris.htm

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