The Conqueror (1956) Directed by Dick Powell
John Wayne .... Temujin, later Genghis Khan
Susan Hayward .... Bortai
Pedro Armendáriz .... Jamuga
Agnes Moorehead .... Hunlun
Thomas Gomez .... Wang Khan
John Hoyt (I) .... Shaman
William Conrad .... Kasar
Ted de Corsia .... Kumlek
Leslie Bradley .... Targutai
Lee Van Cleef .... Chepei
Peter Mamakos .... Bogurchi
Leo Gordon (I) .... Tartar captain
Richard Loo .... Captain of Wang's guard
Ray Spiker .... Guard
Sylvia Lewis .... Solo dancer
The Conqueror had a tragic aftermath. The location was downwind from the Nevada nuclear test site, where dozens of above-ground fission bombs had been detonated since 1951. The film crew returned to Hollywood with 60 tons of local fallout-contaminated red sand for studio retakes. Out of 220 known cast and crew 91 were diagnosed with various cancers by 1984. In a population of that size and age distribution, the expected cancer incidence might have been about thirty. John Wayne and Susan Hayward both died of cancer in 1975, Agnes Moorehead in 1974, Dick Powell in 1963. Pedro Armendariz, after battling kidney and lymphatic cancer, killed himself in 1963.
Howard Hughes is said to have loved this movie, and withdrew it from distribution when it encountered a heavy barrage of critical mockery. The complex litigation surrounding Hughes' estate left the film rights in limbo for many years after his death. An MCA Home Video VHS tape, mastered from an inferior print, was released in 1983, and became a cult collectable. The new DVD version offers excellent sound, clarity, color fidelity and wide-screen aspect ratio.
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