The Conqueror

G

Released Mar 28, 1956

1h 51m

Adventure

List

Reviews

10%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Genghis Khan (John Wayne) and his 12th-century Mongol horde abduct the daughter (Susan Hayward) of a wicked Tartar.

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Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

John Wayne in the role he was born to never play.

Rated: 1.5/5

Mar 2, 2021

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Howard Hughes' anachronistic saga is one of the worst films ever made with an embarrassing performance of John Wayne as Genghis Khan the Warrior.

Rated: F

Nov 10, 2006

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

No one comes out of this train wreck holding their head up.

Rated: D

Feb 28, 2006

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Steve D

An absolute joke and a completely unintentional one.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

The best thing about this movie was John Wayne riding his horse! Where was Yul Brynner? Also, Jack Palance, both actors would have made a good Kahn. Loved Susan Hayward and the rest of the cast trying so hard to make this movie work. duh!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

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Audience Member

If this had actually killed John Wayne, it would easily earn 5 stars.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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William L

Though it is a commonly held belief that the Utah-based shooting of this film in the era of nuclear testing was to blame for a high rate of cancer among the production team, but that's a common misconception. In actuality, it was the association with the project itself that literally caused people's cells to divide incorrectly and metastasize, as the universe sought to correct its mistake in the creation of The Conqueror. Some have said that John Wayne couldn't actually act. However, he was just really good at playing one particular role across hundreds of films; he saw an opening, found what people liked, and he filled it (respect if you can do the same thing for 40 years and keep being a major box office draw). This is what happens when a one-note actor like Wayne tries to step out of his very targeted archetype - a cinematic catastrophe. It's a beautiful trainwreck watching the much-beloved actor try to bring his typical mannerisms and delivery to one of history's most feared warlords, an all-time great miscasting. Any project like this that demanded some creativity from Wayne was doomed from the start, but the performances of his fellow actors and in particular a horrific script do absolutely no favors. I got this on DVD for my Dad on Father's Day (a lifelong John Wayne fan who had never seen it), and despite a series of ambitious practical battles, he fell asleep for a solid 60% of the runtime. His greatest involvement was to monitor the volume on the remote because the sound editing on this film is also terrible, with battle audio that is overpowering followed up by whispered dialogue. But you should absolutely watch it just to witness it in all its horror. Never forget. (1/5)

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/21/21

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Audience Member

Easily the worst film in the Action, Adventure and Epic genre. What were they thinking with this one?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Reminding everyone that John WAYNE is cast as Temujin (Genghis Khan) pretty much sums up the whole movie.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Dick Powell

Director

John Wayne

Temujin

Susan Hayward

Bortai

Pedro Armendáriz

Jamuga

Agnes Moorehead

Hunkin

Thomas Gomez

Wang Khan

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Synopsis

Genghis Khan (John Wayne) and his 12th-century Mongol horde abduct the daughter (Susan Hayward) of a wicked Tartar.

Director: Dick Powell
Screenwriter: Oscar Millard
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Rating: G
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 1956, Original
Release Date (DVD): May 30, 2006
Runtime: 1h 51m
Sound Mix: Surround