The Big Idea Behind SOME CAME RUNNING

James Jones' debut novel, From Here to Eternity, proved to be a critical success and a national best-seller upon its publication in 1951. It also provided Frank Sinatra with his famed "comeback" role as Private Maggio when it was adapted for the screen in 1953. Jones subsequently set out to write a worthy follow-up for his sophomore effort. MGM bought the movie rights to this next novel almost a year before publication, paying $250,000 for it in January 1957. Some Came Running, all 1,266 pages of it, was finally released by Scribner's in November, 1957 - more than six years after the publication of Jones' first novel. Literary critics were not overly impressed with the book, calling it rambling and self-indulgent. MGM was undeterred, however, and was determined to create an effective melodrama out of the Jones epic.

Sol C. Siegel had just taken over from Dore Schary as MGM production chief, and under his supervision a screenwriting team was assigned to condense Jones' book down to feature film size. John Patrick and Arthur Sheekman cut out many of the book's secondary characters, eliminated confusing flashbacks, and condensed the timeline from three years to several weeks. Siegel first gave thought to casting bankable star Glenn Ford in the lead, then hit upon a bit of stunt casting - namely, Frank Sinatra, who had been such a smash in the film of Jones' first novel. Sinatra's price had gone up quite a bit since the dark days of 1953. His fee for Some Came Running and two other Metro films was a then-astounding $400,000 against ten-percent of the gross profits.

Vincente Minnelli had just returned from shooting The Reluctant Debutante (1958) when MGM offered him Some Came Running to direct. For Minnelli, it was a wonderful opportunity to explore small-town life in America and a welcome change of pace after months of filming in Europe. Minnelli later wrote in his autobiography, "The James Jones novel was long and rambling, heavily populated, but I felt the main characters were interesting and well thought out." So he took on the rigorous schedule - six months to turn a first-draft script into a film in time for an Oscar®-qualifying showing in Los Angeles before the end of 1958.

Minnelli set about casting the rest of the picture. Sinatra pal Dean Martin was a natural as the hero's gambling buddy Bama Dillert. For the showy role of dimwitted Ginny Moorhead, Sinatra suggested Shirley MacLaine because he had seen her on a Pat Boone TV special, and because (as MacLaine was to write later), "they couldn't get Shelley Winters." MacLaine continued, "Upon learning that I had landed the role of Ginny Moorhead, I immediately went to a specialty store and had a stuffed toy dog made, which I would use as a prop for the role. I boarded a bus for Madison and arrived on location completely in character. Frank saw me get off the bus and just fell down laughing, 'That's Ginny,' he said."

With filming set to begin in early August in Madison, Indiana, Sinatra and Martin rented a house adjacent to the hotel where the rest of the cast and crew would be housed. In their personal bungalow, Frank and Dean could relax, drink, play cards and play host to assorted colorful out-of-town guests. Shirley MacLaine later called these guests "The Boys from Chicago" and said, "I didn't know who they were. I only knew that the nightlife of poker, jokes, pasta, and booze went on until five a.m. Our calls were at six a.m."

by John Miller