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August 30, 2007 | 1 Comment

Post to the Host:
I recently watched the 1945 Gary Cooper western spoof "Along Came Jones," in which he plays Melody Jones, probably the most incompetent cowboy in the west. His sidekick, George, played by William Demarest is the one with brains.

I was struck by how the dialogue presages Dusty and Lefty. Such as:

"You always want to shoot them in their right eye. It spoils their aim."

"If there's anything in the world I like, it's getting saved from being
shot."

And my favorite (as closely as I can remember it), as Melody sings a maddeningly repetitive song:

George: How many verses does that song have?
Melody: Oh, about a hundred. But I only remember about 90.

I'd just like to know: is this the source for your two characters?

Herb R.
Greenville, S.C.

Nope. Dusty and Lefty sprang from a story I wrote called "Lonesome Shorty." A lonesome cowboy who had contrary urges and couldn't live with people and couldn't live without them. I split him in two. But the movie sounds like one I should watch.