John Wayne as Ganghis Khan, and lots of white people playing Asians and making no effort to look and sound Asian. The Duke was a great actor, but a 6'4" white man with blue eyes doesn't make a convincing Asian. Give him a much shorter Mexican brother, Jamuga, played by Pedro Armendariz, and a barely 5 foot mother who was only 7 years older than the Duke, Hunlun, played by Agnes Moorehead, and you have The Conqueror, one of the grossest examples of miscasting in Hollywood history. The other big f-up is the semi Biblical English dialog. If you just have to see this movie, and it is worthwhile for laughs if nothing else, get the DVD and turn the captions on. Otherwise you won't have clue what anyone is saying.<br /><br />The basic plot is actually pretty good. The stunts and battle scenes are good too. If it had been cast correctly and if the Biblical dialog had been eliminated, it could have been a good movie.<br /><br />Although never intended to be a comedy, it comes across as one, largely due to the ridiculous dialog and costumes, especially head gear. Agnes Moorhead's costume is especially hilarious, wrapped up like a mummy in green with only here face visible and huge multicolor beads dangling from each side of her head. Susan Hayward, who plays Bortai, Temujin's love interest, looks like a modern prostitute, in a succession of low cut dresses and modern high heels. Also included is a Las Vegas dance revue of scantily clad white women who have these things on there heads that look like pink doggie-doo. During the opening credits and later during the first battle, John Wayne is seen charging into battle on horseback, waving his sword in the air, and screaming like a Commanche with an expression of shear insanity on his face that had me busting at the seams. William Conrad plays Kasar, Temujins immensely strong but retarded brother, and plays it HORRIBLY. John Hoyt plays the Shaman, dressed in a white and yellow Merlin costume, the character is the stereotypical Japanese from WWII movies.<br /><br />Much is made about the fact this movie was filmed in SW Utah, about 100 miles or so from the Nevada Test Site which lead to the cast and crew being radiated and dying from cancer. I my opinion, this is grossly exaggerated. The facts are a lot of people die from cancer, actors included, and cancer has many causes. Also many of the deaths occurred decades after this movie was made and most of the actors lived into old age. This movie was filmed in 1954, but John Wayne didn't die until 1979. Several of the players survived him including, John Hoyt, William Conrad, Peter Mammokos (who is still living 50 years later), Chuck Roberson (stuntman, no screen role in this film), and the Duke's son Pat Wayne, who still lives. Las Vegas is about 100 miles from the Nevada Test Site, it hasn't died off from cancer. Several small Nevada towns, Tonopah, Goldfield, Beatty, Indian Springs, and Pioche, are literally next door to the Nevada Test Site, and they haven't died off from cancer either.<br /><br />This is generally regarded as the Duke's worst movie. Although this is definitely a bad movie, at least it is entertaining. The Fighting Kentuckian, the Fighting Seebees, and The Green Berets are all much worse, they are unwatchable.