A movie with a black mark: How ‘Conqueror’ took hundreds of lives after filming

The 1956 film caused quite a sensation in the corridors of the Star Factory. And it could not be attributed to success. Critics trashed both the picture itself and actor John Wayne, who performed the role of Genghis Khan. “Conqueror” even included in the list of “50 worst movies of all time and peoples.” But it was not all misfortunes – the worst was ahead.

The movie was doomed to failure

The script, which did not shine with originality, almost went in the trash. Dick Powell – the star of musicals – unexpectedly for many people became a director. It is not surprising that his inexperience, a complete lack of creative vision heavy burden on the shoulders of the actors. Later Norman – stepson of the newly minted director – in one of the interviews frankly admitted: his father flattered by the handsome fee offered by producer Howard Hughes.

“Surpasses everything that has ever been filmed before!” – the chosen slogan of the movie “The Conqueror”, as future events will show, will sound a wicked mockery of the fate of the picture. “Lucky” John Wayne, snatched in the figurative sense of the word the role of Genghis Khan from the hands of Marlon Brando himself, posthumously will receive a “Golden Turkey.”

Producers then recalled the recognized king of westerns John Wayne his statement. Even before filming began, he lightly said: “The script is a cowboy picture, and that’s how I will play Genghis Khan. I consider him a gunslinger.” This image made the movie even more ridiculous. The picture was not saved even by the participation of Hollywood stars – the beautiful Susan Hayward and Agnes Moorehead.

“Conqueror”

Grueling filming and a scary discovery

Despite the heat, there was a working atmosphere on set. The light breeze that blew from Southern Utah was a little refreshing – and even invigorating for the actors, extras and cameramen. Howard Hughes, one of the powerful and wealthy men of America, was rubbing his hands together. The hills of Snow Canyon were the perfect place to realize his grand creative plans. Although behind his back actors sometimes laughed: this money bag did not know anything about art.

It is unknown why one day John Wayne decided to bring on the set Geiger counter. Apparently, he had heard rumors that the area was considered to be unsafe for a reason. It started crackling, making a nasty rustling noise. But surprisingly, it didn’t interfere with the filming. Wayne told Howard Hughes and Dick Powell about his discovery. However, they argued that the level of radiation is minimal and it is completely harmless to humans. How wrong they were.

The entire film crew had no idea that since recently the deadly dust has been lying in huge flakes in the valleys and canyons of Southern Utah. Here between 1951 and 1962, the U.S. military conducted hundreds of nuclear explosions. The Pentagon-bribed publications trumpeted the safety of the tests.

A string of deaths

Norman Powell – stepson of the director of the movie “The Conqueror” – more than a dozen years later bitterly recalled that “nobody cared about radiation. There was no concern at all. At all.” For 13 weeks the participants of filming in Snow Canyon were exposed to powerful radiation. Strong winds from the Yucca Flats area carried death in the form of nuclear fallout. This is where the U.S. military tested 11 atomic bombs. In fact, all people even hundreds of kilometers away from the tests were doomed to a slow, agonizing death.

John Wayne, who associated the bright hopes of the “Conqueror”, eight years after filming went to the hospital. The diagnosis of doctors was disappointing: lung cancer. It seemed that the king of westerns defeated the deadly disease. But the disease did not let go of the star actor from his tenacious clutches. John Wayne died of stomach cancer at the age of 72. A sad fate befell his two sons, who were also found to have cancer.

“The Conqueror.”

Brilliant beauty, Oscar-winning Susan Hayward faded away at the age of 57. The cause of death was brain cancer.

The mournful list continued Agnes Moorehead – one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood. She long fought a terrible disease, which, unfortunately, turned out to be stronger. The star passed away at the age of 73.

The bright Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz committed suicide at the age of 51. Neck cancer brought him unimaginable suffering, which he could not bear.

According to official figures, 91 people who took part in the movie “The Conqueror” died from radiation. But as it turned out, the authorities withheld the truth about the true extent of the tragedy. We are talking about the Navajo Indians, involved in the crowd. No one had ever counted the death toll among them, but there were hundreds of them!

Director Dick Powell died of lymphatic cancer in 1963. Producer Howard Hughes was lucky to escape the terrible disease. But the feeling of heavy guilt over the dead haunted him until the last hour.

The sad events associated with the filming of the ill-fated picture, did not resonate neither in the actor’s environment, nor in society. Only the family of Agnes Moorehead openly accused the government of criminal negligence in knowingly poisoning people with radiation.