If you're not familiar with the Howard Hugh's disastrous 1956 production The Conqueror you're certainly not alone. Sporting John Wayne in yellow face (yikes!), some blatant, old fashioned misogyny, and questionable production practices (more on that later), distributing company RKO Pictures rightfully has buried this picture as much as they possibly could. I know I sure hadn't heard of it. All that is about to change with the upcoming documentary aptly titled The Conqueror (Hollywood Fallout). I was lucky enough to catch the US Premiere at Cinequest and was blown away by the story it told. What started as what you'd expect from the doc in a breakdown of how The Conqueror came to be took an interesting twist. The Twist? The devastating effects of nuclear bomb testing and rise of cancer to "Downwinders" in the United States because of it. The doc investigates one particular element of the production pertaining to strong winds and an exuberant amount of loose dust from the large amount of horses used on set. The results? An uncanny amount of the cast and crew developed cancer, including none other than John Wayne. The doc takes it a step further, exposing the short sightedness and lack of attention towards cancer surrounding testing sights until John Wayne was diagnosed. In a complete circumstance of serendipity I happened to see the upcoming documentary the same night Oppenheimer won best picture, and was appalled and fascinated by our equal obsession and lack of care surrounding Nuclear Warfare. Below,...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Wednesday, 20 March, 2024