The Conqueror (film)
| The Conqueror | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Dick Powell |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Oscar Millard |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Victor Young |
| Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
| Edited by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $9 million |
The Conqueror is a 1956 American CinemaScope epic film directed by Dick Powell and written by Oscar Millard. The film 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 a critical flop; it is often ranked as one of the worst films of the 1950s and one of the worst ever. Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the role after reading the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast.The Conqueror was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. Wayne was posthumously named a "winner" of a Golden Turkey Award for his performance in the film.
Mongol chief Temujin (later to be known as Genghis Khan) falls for Bortai, the daughter of the Tartar 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 to overcome the Tartars.
The Conqueror received an A classification from the British Board of Film Classification but also required cuts to obtain the rating. The film premiered on February 2, 1956 in London before its Los Angeles premiere on February 22 and official theatrical release on March 28.
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Wikipedia