u/Classicsarecool

Also, what will you do with them if you plan anything?

When audiences think of the RKO movie “The Conqueror”, they think first of John Wayne in a “Fu Manchu” mustache in a misguided attempt to play the great Genghis Khan. And yes, working on the film likely contributed to his and many other people’s deaths from cancer. This was due to filming near areas of nuclear weapon testing that had occurred not long before shooting began. That is absolutely tragic, and something to be learned from. As for Wayne in the film, he gives his Midwestern drawl here, and treats the role the same energy as he does to any cowboy. With that, he creates an Oriental Western, and people laugh it off as a joke. However, there is so much more to the film than this. Today, I will try to speak for the film in order to defend the merit it still possesses when seen today.

I’d like to first agree with the consensus of the elephant in the room: John Wayne. He is a wildly miscast lead, delivers his lines terribly, and it was a grave mistake to cast him. It is also a tragedy that Mongolians were not cast for this film in major roles, but I do not wish to condemn the norms of an industry or the societal norms of people over 70 years ago by the standards of today. The film is also not historically accurate at all, but I aim to treat it based on its own plot and inner storyline.

Alright, the bad is out of the way. Now, from here on out, I will explain why this isn’t the film people decry it as.

I will start with the absolute highlight of this film: Susan Hayward. She deserves massive credit for, in spite of thinking it would not be a good film, showing up prepared, and putting in her absolute all into the role of Börte. The character is often seen for being an object of Temüjin’s (the future Genghis Khan) lust, the film depicts her as a strong-willed woman who also has empathy. She hates him at first, and rightly so. He kidnaps her out of lust, or so it seems. It is later revealed that he does this to the daughter of the man who killed his father, showing an inner conflict in the main character. Börte develops compassion for Temüjin, seeing his suffering upon his capture by her father. She sees him as, within the films own logic, one who is committed to his people. The leader of the Mongols has a long-term goal: Avenging his father and uniting the tribes. That gives a reason for the Mongols to follow the character. This isn’t pure lust, it is the treatment of Börte as a political tool. However, she is the one who frees him when captured and had the making of a character who could have been a femme fatale. Her empathy blocks this, making her a more complex and well written character. Tough, but with a heart. Hayward admittedly didn’t look the part at all in costume and makeup, but she did sound like she was committed to doing it as well as possible. I believe she delivered in both vocal and facial expression, and I commend her for her sincere work.

I also wish to credit Pedro Armendáriz for his work in the role of Jamunga, the blood brother of Temüjin. He delivered a passionate, almost soulful performance. You can see his absolute loyalty to Temüjin, even wanting him to become greater without him when he feels his presence in the future will be an impediment. He also builds a real friendship with Börte that has no sign of romance, showing a disciplined man loyal to his leader and brother always. Further, Agnes Moorehead did a good job as Hö'elün, showing a conflicted mother who only wanted the best for her son. It is a testament to her unconditional love when she helps him even in the face of his dismissive attitude against her counsel. She deserves very good credit for out-doing Wayne in her limited screen time, a great showing of her talent.

Now, I will touch on a very hated aspect: The Script. Many blame screenwriter Oscar Millard for a horrific, pseudo-Shakespearean screenplay with stilted dialogue. Millard was actually not incapable. He was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay of the World War II drama film “The Frogmen”, and wrote other acclaimed films. He, an Englishman himself, absolutely did not intend for his lines to be spoken by a cowboy actor. I do not think the words themselves were as Early Modern English as many would have readers who have people believe. It wasn’t trying to be Shakespeare, it was trying to be a competent, ancient dialogue of heroic people that is still understandable to modern audiences. The film relies on the “Great Man” theory for the audience to understand Temüjin, and Millard leans into this to emphasize his destiny. Most of the actors delivered their lines convincingly, like Hayward and Armendáriz, and it is through them I heard what Millard was trying to do. I think he did so very competently. It is also worth pointing out that many people you hear speaking also spoke their dialogue as convincingly and professionally as they could, and this work reflected positively on me personally. I believe this is a matter of text vs. execution here, and it shows when watched in context.

The score by Victor Young is probably the most uncontroversial part of the film, and it rivals the great scores of the era. It is only ignored largely because of the reputation of the film. I want to say this: Young was a 22x nominated composer by the Academy Awards, only winning posthumously for Around the World in 80 Days. I believe the score for this film is genius, and perfectly fit the attempt to recreate Mongolia in Utah.

It is also worth noting the actual fight choreography, horse chases, and action sequences were all very impressive. Complete with many extras, it does its job. These were my favorite visual parts of the film. It is pure Hollywood excess, and I love it.

On the excess, this brings us to the “title character” of the post, if you will. Howard Hughes. The Head of RKO, in his attempt to save the dying studio he ran, made this film to emulate previous Hollywood epics such as The Robe (1953) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954). Hayward also starred in the latter as a fictionalized version of the Roman Empress Messalina. He wanted to make a great film with a great budget, and while flawed, he did in part make a noble effort. It is tragic that this film haunted him the rest of his life, though that is another story. That said, he deserves acknowledgment for his effort and trying to stand out sincerely.

In conclusion, after watching The Conqueror, I conclude it is wise to look past the memes and into the context of this films. Yes, it is flawed, but it is a highly competent-made film brought down only by a miscast lead actor, the aging badly of yellowface (I condemn yellowface in the strongest terms), and the death rate it brought to so many who worked on the film. I believe before it is judged, it should be looked at fairly, in the context of its time and the themes it conveys to audiences. I thank you all for reading this.

TL;DR-The Conqueror (1956) does not deserve the reputation it has been given, and is a competent film brought down by its most obvious flaws that plague the surface of what audiences see.

James Stewart and Glynis Johns (the Mother in Mary Poppins) do a great job here, as does Bill Mumy, who plays their son Erasmus. Ed Wynn, who played Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins, also appears as the Captain and the Narrator. Henry Koster, who also directed Stewart in the classic film Harvey (1950), directed this as well.

I thought Stewart was terrifically funny as the absent-minded Professor Leaf, especially. I’ll watch almost anything with him in it, he’s my favorite actor.

The film is about his son, who is a Math prodigy despite also being color blind and tone deaf to music. The Professor is afraid he won’t have a soul as a mathematician, as he teaches English and feels Math is soulless. However, this is dispelled by his crush on the French film star Brigitte Bardot, who makes a brief appearance toward the end as herself. It helped that Mumy himself had a real life crush on Bardot during the filming, which helped convey his expressions on film.

Great movie, highly recommended!

It was July 4, 1995.

Artists like Mary Blair (most famously) did a wonderful job!

I just watched this for the first time. This could have easily been a masterpiece if not for the studio intervention. I loved everything until about the last 10 minutes, which I hated. I mourn the lost 43 minutes now.

Anyway, highly recommended! A great work by Orson Welles!

This was the first film made by MGM-British. It stars Robert Taylor and Maureen O’Sullivan. It also features a pre-Gone with the Wind supporting role from Vivien Leigh, and you hear her British accent throughly here. O’Sullivan and Leigh were actually childhood friends, growing up in the same convent.

This was a very good film, a typical cocky American becoming humbled by the old world sort. I liked the jokes and would recommend the film itself. The hazing of Lee (Robert Taylor) was my favorite part. All the acting was great, and I enjoyed Taylor greatly here.

Before Leigh first appears on screen, Taylor speaks of being halfway through the book Gone with the Wind. That felt like a meta-joke before the source material was there, as Leigh had not yet been cast as Scarlett O’Hara. Her role here actually felt like a bit of an “audition” for Scarlett, as they have similar qualities and Leigh proved she could steal the show from Taylor in their scenes together. David O. Selznick watched her in this film, which helped influence his choice of her. Taylor and Leigh would star together in Waterloo Bridge (a new favorite of mine), two years later. What a flip of what this movie was about (American conquers Oxford, then an Englishwoman conquers Hollywood).

Finally the first still has been found(by me).

Since Gone with the Wind is returning to theaters in October, I’m trying to watch more of her other films before then. So far, I’ve watched Waterloo Bridge, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. I actually posted about them here after I saw them, I’ve liked them all so far. What other works of hers do you all recommend?

I watched this for the first time in over half a decade tonight. What a dark and interesting film. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh do so well together. “Hey Stella!” makes me laugh everytime, but as you go on you realize and remember the dark side of Stanley (Brando). I’m haunted by Leigh’s line about soldiers coming up to her lawn, yelling “Blanche…Blanche.” She really was a haunting actress whose performances stick with you, especially with her health struggles that she went through during this time. I would have liked to have seen her play the role on stage in London, as well as Brando and Kim Hunter (Stella) in the original on Broadway. Glad I saw this again!

What a masterpiece by director William Wellman! Loved everything about it, especially the great friendship and brotherhood between the two lead characters! Great full-circle plot!

Doll and Priscilla Montgomery Clark (who played a child munchkin) are all who are left from The Wizard of Oz. Doll is also the last living person who appeared onscreen, albeit uncredited, in Gone with the Wind.