'Rio Grande'

Sing some harmony? Join the army!

I'd like to think that was the tagline for recruiting to the U.S. Army, for those who were not excited about seeing the sights of the American west and getting stuck by a bunch of crazy Indians.

To overcome the blues, they instead practice trick horse riding and singing five-part harmony around the camp fire. No telling how many decent soldiers were left back east because they weren't a tenor.

John Wayne starred in five films with Maureen O'Hara: Rio Grande and The Quiet Man, which was previously reviewed on this sight.

Initially, The Quiet Man was supposed to be made first, but it was the opinion of studio executives that it wasn't very good.

So, they went to work on Rio Grande, which was the final installment of John Ford's "cavalry trilogy," which starred Wayne was Kirby Yorke. It finds Yorke leading a ragtag bunch of good ol' boys and his son joins the ranks. And his mother -- Yorke's jilted wife -- comes along for the wife.

I'm sure Yorke loves that.

Anyway, they made Rio Grande and then they made The Quiet Man, which became the studio's highest grossing film.