The Conqueror (1956)
1/10
Tedious and Dumb
5 June 2005
I previously reviewed Jet Pilot, another John Wayne film done for RKO in the mid-1950s. It was a BAD but fun to watch film. However, The Conquerer is JUST BAD. Instead of laughing at its ineptness throughout the film, the movie lasts so long that this one joke wears off very quickly and the viewer will most likely begin to contemplate suicide.

Although abominable casting is important to both films and LOTS of abominable casting occurs in The Conquerer, it is the slow pacing, hackneyed dialog and tediousness that make this film so bad. DULL, DULL, DULL, DULL!!!! Okay, I got that out of my system. Now for the bad casting: John Wayne as the Mongol Terror (Genghis Khan), red-headed Susan Hayward (a miserable actress in general due to her constant overacting) as the Asian princess Bortai and, once again, red-headed Agnes Morehead as Genghis' Mommy. What were they thinking?! I assume that because Howard Hughes owned RKO and was well into becoming 100% unhinged, he personally must have made the casting decisions. No explanation other than insanity could explain it! I have made it a point to try to watch EVERY movie listed in The Fifty Worst Movies (Medved and Dreyfus) book and I've seen the vast majority of them. However, unless you are a glutton for punishment like me, I don't recommend you try to watch this film--after all, you've got to take care of your brain better than that!
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