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The Conqueror (1956) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
2.8/10   1,363 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 26% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Oscar Millard (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Conqueror on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 March 1956 (USA) more
Tagline:
Surpasses anything ever filmed before! more
Plot:
Mongol chief Temujin battles against Tartar armies and for the love of the Tartar princess Bortai. Temujin becomes the emperor Genghis Khan. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
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 (From The Wrap. 3 December 2009, 3:12 PM, PST)

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User Reviews:
One of the all time unintentionally funny movies. more (40 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

John Wayne ... Temujin, later Genghis Khan

Susan Hayward ... Bortai
Pedro Armendáriz ... Jamuga (as Pedro Armendariz)

Agnes Moorehead ... Hunlun
Thomas Gomez ... Wang Khan
John Hoyt ... Shaman

William Conrad ... Kasar
Ted de Corsia ... Kumlek
Leslie Bradley ... Targutai
Lee Van Cleef ... Chepei
Peter Mamakos ... Bogurchi
Leo Gordon ... Tartar captain
Richard Loo ... Captain of Wang's guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Aldrich ... Chieftain #2 (uncredited)
Phil Arnold ... Honest John (uncredited)
Gregg Barton ... Jalair (uncredited)
Lane Bradford ... Chieftain #4 (uncredited)
Larry Chance ... Tartar (uncredited)
Barrie Chase ... Dancer in Wang's palace (uncredited)
John Daheim ... Tartar guard sounding alarm (uncredited)
John George ... Drummer boy (uncredited)
Jeanne Gerson ... Bortai's slave woman (uncredited)
Fred Graham ... Subuya, (Mongol warrior) (uncredited)
Michael Granger ... Chieftain #1 (uncredited)
Robert Hinkle ... Monk (uncredited)
David Hoffman ... Potter (uncredited)
Paul Hoffman ... Chieftain #3 (uncredited)
Charles Horvath ... (uncredited)
Pat Lawler ... Wang Khan's wife (uncredited)
Weaver Levy ... Mongol (uncredited)
Jarma Lewis ... Girl in bath (uncredited)

Sylvia Lewis ... Solo dancer (uncredited)
Pat McMahon ... Girl in bath (uncredited)
Torben Meyer ... Scribe (uncredited)
Norman S. Powell ... Mongol guard (uncredited)
Ray Spiker ... Guard (uncredited)
George E. Stone ... Sibilant Sam (uncredited)
Ken Terrell ... Sorgan (Mongol warrior) (uncredited)

Patricia Tiernan ... Wang Khan's wife (uncredited)
Carl Vernell ... Merkit captain (uncredited)
Michael Wayne ... Mongol guard (uncredited)
Patrick Wayne ... (uncredited)
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Directed by
Dick Powell 
 
Writing credits
Oscar Millard (written by)

Produced by
Dick Powell .... producer
Richard Sokolove .... associate producer
Howard Hughes .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Victor Young 
 
Cinematography by
Joseph LaShelle 
William E. Snyder  (as William Snyder)
Leo Tover 
Harry J. Wild 
 
Film Editing by
Robert Ford 
Kennie Marstella 
 
Art Direction by
Carroll Clark 
Albert S. D'Agostino 
 
Set Decoration by
Al Orenbach 
Darrell Silvera 
 
Makeup Department
Mel Berns .... makeup artist
Larry Germain .... hair stylist
Web Overlander .... makeup artist (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Killy .... assistant director
Cliff Lyons .... second unit director
 
Sound Department
Walter Elliott .... sound effects
Bernard Freericks .... sound
Terry Kellum .... sound
 
Visual Effects by
Linwood G. Dunn .... photographic effects (as Linwood Dunn)
Albert Simpson .... photographic effects
 
Stunts
Roydon Clark .... stunts (uncredited)
John Daheim .... stunts (uncredited)
Henry A. Escalante .... stunts (uncredited)
Bernie Gozier .... stunts (uncredited)
Fred Graham .... stunts (uncredited)
Charles Horvath .... stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons .... stunts (uncredited)
Bob Morgan .... stunts (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan .... stunts (uncredited)
Gil Perkins .... stunts (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy .... stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson .... stunts (uncredited)
Barlow Simpson .... stunts (uncredited)
Ray Spiker .... stunts (uncredited)
Norm Taylor .... stunt rigger (uncredited)
Ken Terrell .... stunts (uncredited)
Bill White Jr. .... stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams .... stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills .... stunts (uncredited)
Terry Wilson .... stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yvonne Wood .... costumes: men
Michael Woulfe .... costumes: Miss Hayward
 
Editorial Department
Stuart Gilmore .... editorial supervisor
 
Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff .... music supervisor
C. Bakaleinikoff .... musical director
Sidney Cutner .... orchestrator
Leo Shuken .... orchestrator
 
Other crew
William J. Hole Jr. .... script supervisor (as William Hole Jr.)
Howard Hughes .... presenter
Robert Sidney .... choreographer
Barlow Simpson .... wrangler (uncredited)
Norm Taylor .... wrangler (uncredited)
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Conqueror of the Desert
more
Runtime:
111 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Temujin throws a spear at a man in a stream, the wire guiding it is visible. The spear's trajectory is also wobbly. more
Quotes:
Bortai: For me, there is no peace while you live, Mongol.
Temujin: You're beautiful in your wrath.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
34 out of 45 people found the following review useful.
One of the all time unintentionally funny movies., 16 April 1999
Author: (otter_c@ix.netcom.com) from Mountain View, Ca.

One of the all-time bad movies, an unintentional joke that actually stays funny for over two hours. John Wayne as Genghis Khan is one of the worst examples of miscasting in the history in Hollywood, but that's not what makes the movie so funny. What makes the movie funny is Wayne attempting to say the ridiculous purple prose of the script, the whole thing is written in this sort of pseudo-Shakesperian English, and John Wayne was always one of those rare actors who had serious trouble with anything like a grammatical sentence. Whenever things start to lag Wayne has to say something like "I ree-gret that Ah am without sufficient spittle to sa-lute you as you dee-serve" or the classic "Yore beautiful in yore wrath".

Also memorable for bad supporting performances by Agnes Moorehead and William Conrad, the sight of Wayne in Asiatic eye-makeup and Fu-Manchu moustace (the only biography of Khan I've read says he was white anyway), Susan Hayward doing a clumsy sword dance, a rape scene that would embarrass the tackiest Bodice-ripper, kitschy sets, and a Las Vegas revue act featuring a female dancer in a white leotard with a patch of fringe right *there*.

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more (40 total)

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