Hollywood has given us many icons over the years, some considerably more likeable than others. John Wayne has always been one of the industry’s most controversial stars due to his incredibly racist and generally bigoted views.
A leading man in many westerns, such as The Searchers and True Grit, Wayne came to represent all things American and traditional. Thus, he leaves a complicated legacy, especially since many of the well-loved films he has starred in have since been criticised for their negative depiction of Native Americans.
Yet, one of the reasons that Wayne is so deeply embedded in film history is due to the sheer volume of critically acclaimed movies he managed to star in. From The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence to Rio Bravo, the actor could be found in some of Old Hollywood’s most popular films.
Still, he made a few missteps when it came to picking roles – none more than The Conqueror. Released in 1956, the movie is widely regarded as one of the worst ever made. Not only was it a failure on every level, but it was shot close to a radioactive nuclear test site, resulting in many cast and crew members contracting cancer in the coming years.
The movie, directed by Dick Powell, sees Wayne play Genghis Khan. The fact that a white man was cast to play an Asian man was the first mistake – that’s just one of many reasons why The Conqueror is so terrible. Yet that’s not all; the movie is poorly researched and far from historically accurate, making it a rather offensive watch.
Many issues stemmed from the fact that the cast and crew were forced to spend countless hours in the blazing desert heat, with minimal access to water. Subsequently, many people became ill on set, and a lack of health and safety regulations was more than apparent.
Moreover, some of the film was shot near The Nevada Test Site, which was used as a base to test many nuclear weapons during the Cold War. While the crew were told they would be safe, this was not the case. In total, 91 of the 220 cast and crew members, including most of the main actors, were diagnosed with cancer in the coming years. Out of this number, 46 of them died, including Wayne and Susan Hayward.
While cancer is one of the most common diseases, experts suggest that it is highly likely that most of the crew did contract cancer as a result of fallout radiation. The set was in very close proximity to such a dangerous site, meaning they would have breathed in copious amounts of toxic fumes.
In spite of the tragedies that emerged from the film’s shooting, it is still remembered as a massive failure, with both contemporary and modern reviewers negatively slating the movie.
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