Along Came Jones (film)

Along Came Jones
Theatrical poster
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Produced by Gary Cooper
Walter Thompson (assoc. producer)
Written by Nunnally Johnson
Alan Le May (novel)
Starring Gary Cooper
Loretta Young
Dan Duryea
William Demarest
Music by Arthur Lange
Cinematography Milton R. Krasner
Edited by Thomas Neff
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • June 20, 1945 (1945-06-20) ( Premiere-Dallas)
  • July 15, 1945 (1945-07-15) (U.S.)[1]
Running time
 90 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Cooper in Along Came Jones
Dan Duryea

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

Critical acclaim

Martin and Porter's DVD guide describes Along Came Jones as a "[h]ighly watchable comic western," giving it a rating of 4 out of 5 ("Very Good").[2]

Radio adaptation

Along Came Jones was presented on This Is Hollywood December 28, 1946. Janet Blair and Joel McCrea starred in the adaptation.[3]

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. [4] [5]

References

  1. ↑ "Along Came Jones: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ Mick Martin and Marsha Porter (2006). DVD and Video Guide 2007, Ballantine Books, p. 26.
  3. ↑ "'Hollywood' Star". Harrisburg Telegraph. December 21, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved September 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/10/12/een-stille-revolutionair-4786802-a1526307
  5. ↑ https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/morris.htm
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