An editor in the '40s, Jones cut memorable films for directors Henry Hathaway (The House on 92nd Street, 13 Rue Madeleine) and Elia Kazan (Boomerang, Gentlemen's Agreement, Pinky, Panic in the Streets). He became a director in the '50s and helmed several low-budget genre films, including westerns (Day of Fury) and mysteries (Gorilla at Large); he also directed Wolf Larsen, an adaptation of Jack London's The Sea Wolf. In the '60s, Jones worked mostly in television.