The Conqueror

by Nathan on 3/14/2006 · 5 comments

For those who don’t recognize the role John Wayne is playing in the above shot, it’s Temujin (the movie takes place before he becomes Chinggis Khan) in the legendarily atrocious The Conqueror. As not Mongol as Wayne looks in the role, his costar, the lovely Susan Hayward looks much less like a Tartar than, well, an American actress.

Radiation from nearby nuclear tests that most certainly contributed to high cancer rates among cast and crew was just one of the many problems involved in making this Howard Hughes fiasco. It certainly was a more tragic problem than such classic lines as, “This Tartar woman is for me and my blood says take her!” (As featured on this magnificent poster.)

I thank the good people in South Korea who saw fit to release this movie on DVD, and also thank the folks who sell it on eBay. After a very hectic term, much of which involved extensive reading on the Mongol Empire, I can think of no better way to mark the end of the course than watching this delightfully bad movie.

{ 2 trackbacks }

Doesn’t look like any of my in-laws, strangely enough at From the Nakdong to the Yalu: 3/14/2006 at 2:22 am
Philadelphia Will Do: 3/29/2006 at 12:05 pm

{ 3 comments }

1 elizabeth 3/14/2006 at 5:33 pm: Regarding this film, imdb says, “Agnes Moorehead nearly manages to steal the show as her imitation of a talking prune is absolutely extraordinary”. Now, that sounds like something I’m going to have to watch.

Have fun and congratulations on completing your course. My new seminar just started.
2 Nick 3/15/2006 at 9:40 am: This film was shortlisted in Salon’s recent “bad movies” Oscars in the Worst Biopic category. The winner was The Babe Ruth Story.

Have you seen Gary Cooper’s turn as Marco Polo? pretty shocking stuff.
3 KZBlog 3/16/2006 at 7:40 am: Now I need a picture of me and my wife with the quote-This Kazakh woman is for me and my blood says Take her

Or maybe to keep with racial stereotypes she should say it about me