 According to an interview in the Los Angeles Times on October 28,  2000, Maureen OHara (qv) recounted that she, John Ford (I) (qv)  and John Wayne (I) (qv) made a handshake agreement in 1944 to do  the film. When John Ford (I) (qv) pitched the idea to Hollywood  producers, he was told that it was a "silly Irish story that wont  make a penny." Wayne had a contract with Republic Pictures and  approached Republic studio chief Herbert J. Yates (qv) ("...a step  down for John Ford (I) (qv)," he says), he was told that the  script was a silly Irish tale that would make no money. However,  Yates would relent if Wayne, Ford and OHara together would make a  western for Republic, a sure money