The Conqueror is a 1956 American epic historical drama film, directed by Dick Powell and written by Oscar Millard.

It stars John Wayne as the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and co-stars Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and Pedro Armendáriz.

[4] Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the lead role after reading the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast.

Mongol chief Temujin (later to be known as Genghis Khan) falls for Bortai, the daughter of the Tatars' leader, and steals her away, precipitating war.

[8] The film had a troubled production; writer Oscar Millard stated that "The company had just missed being wiped out by a flash flood, and Duke [John] Wayne had been drunk for three days.

[11] Some filming locations included parts of Utah, such as Snow Canyon, Pine Valley, Leeds, and Harrisburg.

[13] Exteriors were shot in the Escalante Desert near St. George, Utah, which is 137 miles (220 km) downwind of the United States government's Nevada National Security Site and received the brunt of nuclear fallout from testing active in this period.

[10] The cast and crew spent many difficult weeks at the site, and producer Howard Hughes later shipped 60 tons of dirt back to Hollywood in order to match the Utah terrain and lend realism to studio reshoots.

Wayne's son Michael developed skin cancer and Patrick had a benign tumor removed from his breast.

[10] In a 2001 interview with Larry King, Powell's widow June Allyson stated that the cause of death was lung cancer due to his chain smoking.

[24] Dr. Robert Pendleton, then a professor of biology at the University of Utah, is reported to have stated in 1980, "With these numbers, this case could qualify as an epidemic.

Several cast and crew members, as well as relatives of those who died, considered suing the government for negligence, claiming it knew more about the hazards in the area than it let on.

[29] The Conqueror had premieres around the world in January 1956 in Caracas, Hong Kong, Manila, Mexico City, Paris, (23) São Paulo and Washington, D.C.