Did a Hollywood epic about Genghis Khan trigger a deadly cancer cluster?

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 1956 film The Conqueror is infamous for its disastrous casting of John Wayne as a Mongol leader. Yet, its legacy is far darker than critical mockery. Filmed downwind of a nuclear testing site, the production became the subject of a chilling health controversy involving high rates of cancer among the cast.

The Conqueror was a high-budget RKO production shot in the Escalante Desert near St. George, Utah. This location placed the cast and crew 137 miles downwind of the Nevada National Security Site, where the U.S. government conducted over 100 nuclear tests between 1951 and 1962. During the 1953 filming period, Operation Upshot–Knothole saw eleven above-ground detonations. Despite federal assurances that the fallout posed no public health risk, producer Howard Hughes later shipped 60 tons of radioactive-dusted desert soil back to Hollywood for studio reshoots.

The health outcomes for the 220-person crew were statistically alarming. By 1980, 91 individuals—roughly 41% of the group—had developed cancer, and 46 had died from the disease. Notable casualties included director Dick Powell, who died of lymphoma in 1963, and stars Susan Hayward and John Wayne, who succumbed to brain and stomach cancers, respectively. While some argue that lifestyle factors like heavy smoking contributed to these deaths, experts like Dr. Robert Pendleton noted that the incidence rate far exceeded expected norms, suggesting a potential link to the set's proximity to nuclear testing.

Beyond the tragedy, the film remains a landmark of cinematic failure. John Wayne, despite his immense popularity, was widely considered miscast as Genghis Khan. The performance earned him a posthumous Golden Turkey Award for worst casting in 1980, and the film was frequently cited in lists of the worst movies ever made. Haunted by the production's troubled history and the subsequent illnesses, Howard Hughes reportedly purchased every available print for $12 million, keeping the film largely out of circulation for decades until Universal Pictures acquired the rights in 1979.

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