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The Conqueror (1956 film)

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The Conqueror
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDick Powell
Written byOscar Millard
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJoseph LaShelle
Edited byStuart Gilmore
Music byVictor Young
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release dates
  • January 1956 (1956-01) (Premieres – worldwide)[1]
  • February 2, 1956 (1956-02-02) (Premiere – London)[1]
  • February 22, 1956 (1956-02-22) (Premiere – Los Angeles)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[2]
Box office$9 million[3]

The Conqueror is a 1956 American epic historical drama film, directed by Dick Powell and written by Oscar Millard. It stars John Wayne as the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and co-stars Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and Pedro Armendáriz. Produced by entrepreneur Howard Hughes, the film was principally shot near St. George, Utah.

Despite the stature of the cast and a respectable box office performance, the film was critically panned; it is often ranked as one of the worst films of the 1950s and also as one of the worst films ever made.[4] Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the lead role after reading the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast.[5] The Conqueror was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.[6] In 1980, Wayne posthumously received a Golden Turkey Award (awarded to movies and performances considered the worst in history) in the "Worst Casting" category for his performance as Genghis. In the years since release, the film garnered additional controversy for its filming downwind of a nuclear testing site, which sparked debate among historians and biologists over whether or not it caused multiple cases of cancer among the cast and crew.

Synopsis

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Mongol chief Temujin (later to be known as Genghis Khan) falls for Bortai, the daughter of the Tatars' leader, and steals her away, precipitating war. Bortai spurns Temujin, and is taken back in a raid. Temujin is later captured. Bortai falls in love with him, and helps him escape. Temujin suspects he was betrayed by a fellow Mongol, and sets out to find the traitor and overcome the Tatars.

Cast

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The role of Genghis Khan was originally written for Marlon Brando, but Brando later backed out of the role.[7]

Production

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300 members of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes were cast as Tartar horsemen.[8] The film had a troubled production; writer Oscar Millard stated that "The company had just missed being wiped out by a flash flood, and Duke [John] Wayne had been drunk for three days. Not that it made much difference; except when a bender bloated him, it was hard to tell. His performance drunk or sober was the way other actors tend to perform if drunk."[9] According to his son Norman, Dick Powell accepted directing duties for the money.[10]

Nuclear incident and cancer controversy

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See also: Downwinders § Health effects of nuclear testing

Of the 220 crew members, 91 (comprising 41% of the crew) developed cancer during their lifetime, while 46 (or 21%) died from it. When this was learned, many suspected that filming in Utah and surrounding locations, near nuclear test sites, was to blame.[11] However, tobacco use was very common and likely to have been a key factor in accounting for these cancer deaths.[12] Although the number of cases among the cast and crew is in line with the average for adults in the US at the time, the perception of a link between the film's location and subsequent illness remains, not least because many of those involved developed cancer at a younger age than average.[11]

Some filming locations included parts of Utah, such as Snow Canyon, Pine Valley, Leeds, and Harrisburg.[13] Exteriors were shot in the Escalante Desert near St. George, Utah, which is 137 miles (220 km) downwind of the United States government's Nevada National Security Site and received the brunt of nuclear fallout from testing active in this period.[14] In 1953, eleven above-ground nuclear weapons tests occurred at the site as part of Operation Upshot–Knothole.[10] The cast and crew spent many difficult weeks at the site, and producer Howard Hughes later shipped 60 tons of dirt back to Hollywood in order to match the Utah terrain and lend realism to studio reshoots. The filmmakers knew about the nuclear tests,[15] but the federal government had assured residents that the tests posed no hazard to the public health.[11] Over 100 nuclear bombs were detonated in the area from 1951 to 1962.[10]

In 1962, Powell developed lymphoma and died in January 1963. Armendáriz committed suicide in June 1963 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Hayward died of brain cancer in 1975. Wayne developed lung cancer in 1964, and eventually died from stomach cancer in 1979.[10] Several of Wayne's and Hayward's relatives visiting the set also had cancer scares. Wayne's son Michael developed skin cancer and Patrick had a benign tumor removed from his breast. Hayward's son, Tim Barker, had a benign tumor removed from his mouth.[11][16] Moorehead was a nonsmoker, teetotaler and health fanatic, yet died of cancer in April 1974.[17] Her mother Mary maintained that it was working on The Conqueror which ultimately killed Agnes.[18]

Hoyt died of lung cancer in 1991. Van Cleef died from a heart attack in 1989, but his secondary cause of death was listed as throat cancer. Some point to other factors such as the wide use of tobacco for the cancer deaths.[12] Wayne's heavy-smoking habit was blamed for his cancer by Wayne and his wife Pilar Pallete.[10] In a 2001 interview with Larry King, Powell's widow June Allyson stated that the cause of death was lung cancer due to his chain smoking.[19] Hayward's cancer began as a lung tumor identified in March 1972 that later metastasized.[20]

Reportedly, Hughes felt guilty about his decisions regarding production,[15] particularly over the decision to film at a hazardous site. He bought every print for $12 million and kept it out of circulation for many years until Universal Pictures purchased the film from his estate in 1979.[21][22] The Conqueror, along with Ice Station Zebra,[23] is said to be one of the films Hughes watched endlessly during his last years.[24]

Dr. Robert Pendleton, then a professor of biology at the University of Utah, is reported to have stated in 1980, "With these numbers, this case could qualify as an epidemic. The connection between fallout radiation and cancer in individual cases has been practically impossible to prove conclusively. But in a group this size you'd expect only 30-some cancers to develop. With 91 cancer cases, I think the tie-in to their exposure on the set of The Conqueror would hold up in a court of law." Several cast and crew members, as well as relatives of those who died, considered suing the government for negligence, claiming it knew more about the hazards in the area than it let on.[11][25]

Since the primary cast and crew numbered about 220, and a considerable number of cancer cases would be expected, controversy exists as to whether the actual results are attributable to radiation at the nearby nuclear weapons test site.[26][27] Statistically, the odds of developing cancer for men in the U.S. population are 43% and the odds of dying of cancer are 23% – very near what was found in this film crew.[28] This statistic does not include the Native American Paiute extras in the film.[29]

Release

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The Conqueror had premieres around the world in January 1956 in Caracas, Hong Kong, Manila, Mexico City, Paris, (23) São Paulo and Washington, D.C. (24).[30] It had its UK premiere at the Odeon Marble Arch in London on February 2, 1956 where it grossed $11,000 in its first 6 days.[31] Its premiere in Berlin led to a riot as young fans from East Berlin, which was part of East Germany but was not yet separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall, stormed past the DDR Border Troops to see John Wayne.[14] The film had its Los Angeles premiere on February 22 and opened in many other US cities that week, including Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco and finished second at the US box office for the week, including a gross of $71,000 in LA and setting many opening day records.[1][32][33]

The film was the eleventh-highest-grossing film at the box office in the United States and Canada during 1956, earning theatrical rentals of $4.5 million, but was a financial failure.[34][35]

Universal purchased the rights to the film in 1979,[21] and the studio released the film on DVD as part of its Vault Series on June 12, 2012.

Kino Lorber will release the film on Blu-ray on February 25, 2025.[36]

Reception

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The critical reception was negative:

  • A. H. Weiler of The New York Times called the film "an Oriental 'Western'" with a script that "should get a few unintentional laughs." Weiler wrote that John Wayne gave an "elementary" portrayal of Genghis while "constantly being unhorsed by such lines as, 'you are beautiful in your wrath.'"[37]
  • Variety called the film "a fanciful, colorful tale suggestive of the vivid period with a derring-do dash that pays off", adding, "The marquee value of the John Wayne-Susan Hayward teaming more than offsets any incongruity of the casting."[38]
  • Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film had "a storming quality about it over-all. Which unfortunately make some of the love scenes seem all but laughable." He added, "Powell deserves much credit for maneuvering the fierce and sensational battle scenes, which are a big highlight when Mongols and Tartars clash."[39]
  • Harrison's Reports wrote that general audiences "should be more than satisfied" by the "thrilling battle scenes" and "strong romance", but the story "does not come through the screen with any appreciable dramatic force, and the acting is no more than acceptable."[40]
  • John McCarten of The New Yorker called the film "pure Hollywood moonshine ... You never saw so many horses fall down in your life. Still, even though their tumbling is far superior to the antics of the actors, it presently becomes tiresome."[41]
  • Time magazine wrote that Wayne "portrays the great conqueror as a sort of cross between a square-shootin' sheriff and a Mongolian idiot. The idea is good for a couple of snickers, but after that it never Waynes but it bores."[6]
  • The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "a rambling and rather ordinary Western-type spectacle ... the weakly contrived narrative is singularly lacking in dramatic tension, and it is difficult to see this Temujin, for all his high-flown cries to heaven to support his destiny, as a potential world-beater or as even an amiable bandit. He is merely John Wayne struggling with an unfortunate piece of casting and with such embarrassingly silly lines as 'I feel this Tartar woman is for me.'"[42]
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer predicted success for the film: "should be a three bell ringer among the popcorn set....the film is aptly titled and after 111 minutes of gore and intrigue, Wayne sets himself up as Genghis Khan, with Susan Hayward beside him. Screen playwright Oscar Millard and producer-director Dick Powell have done competent work."[43]

The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.[44]

Comic book adaptation

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The Conqueror at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (November 21, 1955). "Drama: Indie Setups Announced by Cummings, Chandler; Hello, Barry Fitzgerald". Los Angeles Times. p. 41.
  3. ^ "The Conqueror". The Numbers. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  4. ^ Francaviglia, Richard V.; Rosenstone, Robert A. (2007). Lights, Camera, History: Portraying the Past in Film. Texas A&M University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-58544-580-6.
  5. ^ Monush, Barry (2003). Screen World Presents the Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the Silent Era to 1965. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 773. ISBN 1-55783-551-9.
  6. ^ a b Medved, Harry; Dreyfuss, Randy (1978). The Fifty Worst Films Of All Time. Popular Library. p. 61. ISBN 0-445-04139-0.
  7. ^ "The Conqueror: Hollywood gives Genghis Khan a kicking he won't forget | John Wayne | the Guardian". Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Medved & Medved 1984, p. 48.
  9. ^ Medved & Medved 1984, p. 49.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Hollywood and the downwinders still grapple with nuclear fallout". The Guardian. June 6, 2015. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e Jackovich, Karen G.; Sennet, Mark (November 10, 1980). "The Children of John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Dick Powell Fear That Fallout Killed Their Parents". People. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  12. ^ a b Bacon, James (June 27, 1978). "John Wayne: The Last Cowboy" Archived May 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Us Magazine, June 27, 1978.
  13. ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton: Gibbs Smith. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-4236-0587-4. Wikidata Q123575108.
  14. ^ a b "The Conqueror". AFI Catalog. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Adams, Cecil (October 26, 1984). "Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set?" Archived August 13, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on September 13, 2010.
  16. ^ Fuller, John G. (1984). The Day We Bombed Utah. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN 0-453-00457-1.
  17. ^ Tranberg, Charles. I Love The Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead (Albany, GA; BearManor Media), 2007, pp. 175–176.
  18. ^ Tranberg, page 176.
  19. ^ "Transcripts". CNN. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Tribune, Chicago (June 27, 1985). "Susan's Illness and a Final Grand Performance". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  21. ^ a b ""In 1974, Daily Variety announced that Paramount Pictures was re-releasing the film, but in April 1979, Hollywood Reporter stated that Universal had acquired the rights and that at the time of the purchase, the picture had not been screened publicly for twenty-one years." – Turner Classic Movies". Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  22. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2010). My Year of Flops. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-5312-3.
  23. ^ Brown, Peter Harry; Broeske, Pat H. (2004). Howard Hughes: The Untold Story. Da Capo Press. p. 349. ISBN 0-306-81392-0.
  24. ^ Porter, Darwin (2005). Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel. Blood Moon Productions, Ltd. p. 442. ISBN 0-9748118-1-5.
  25. ^ Olson, James (2002). Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer and History. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6936-6.
  26. ^ Esson, Dylan J. "Did 'Dirty Harry' Kill John Wayne? Media Sensationalism and the Filming of The Conqueror". Utah Historical Quarterly. No. Summer 2003. pp. 250–65. JSTOR 45062793. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  27. ^ "Was The Movie The Conqueror Really Cursed? A Look At Radiation Paranoia – Interscan Corporation". Gasdetection.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  28. ^ "Lifetime Risk of Developing or Dying From Cancer". American Cancer Society. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  29. ^ A Short History Of Nuclear Folly, by Rudolph Herzog – Melville House (April 30, 2013)
  30. ^ "Help Local Good Works". Variety. February 1, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  31. ^ "London Film Biz Boff Despite Cold; 'Holiday' Huge 17G, 'Picnic' Loud 14G, 'Jester' Big 13G, 'Conqueror' 9G, 2d". Variety. February 22, 1956. p. 12. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  32. ^ "National Boxoffice Survey". Variety. February 29, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  33. ^ "Picture Grosses". Variety. February 29, 1956. pp. 8–9. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  34. ^ "109 Top Money Films of 1956". Variety. January 2, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  35. ^ Medved & Medved 1984, p. 51.
  36. ^ The Conqueror Blu-ray. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via www.blu-ray.com.
  37. ^ Weiler, A. H. (March 31, 1956). "Screen: 'The Conqueror'". Archived April 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times. 13.
  38. ^ "Film Reviews: The Conqueror". Variety. February 22, 1956. p. 6. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  39. ^ Schallert, Edwin (February 23, 1956). "Wayne Spectacle Storming Affair". Los Angeles Times. p. Part II, p. 8.
  40. ^ "'The Conqueror' with John Wayne, Susan Hayward and Pedro Armendáriz". Harrison's Reports. February 25, 1956. 32.
  41. ^ McCarten, John (April 7, 1956). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. 112.
  42. ^ "The Conqueror". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 24 (267): 28. March 1956.
  43. ^ Wilson, Barbara L. "'The Conqueror' at Mastbaum." Philadelphia Inquirer, 23 February 1956.
  44. ^ Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-69334-0.
  45. ^ "Dell Four Color #690". Grand Comics Database.
  46. ^ Dell Four Color #690 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

Works cited

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