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This photograph was taken by the renowned Hollywood photographer, Alex Kahle, and depicts a full-color interior close shot of John Wayne in costume as Mongol chief Temujin, now emperor Genghis Khan, as he sits authoritatively on his ornately-carved wooden throne while various men stand guard behind him. Measuring approximately 13 x 13. 25 in. and printed on double-weight stock, this photograph was mounted onto a piece of 16 x 20 in. ivory cardstock for presentation purposes and is signed by Alex Kahle in pencil just beneath the photograph in the lower right corner. The photograph itself is in very good- condition with a fairly light 12 in. diagonal crease starting in the center of the top border and extending towards through the top of Wayne's shoulder and the upper part of this right arm to the right border; a very light 9.5 in. diagonal crease starting on Wayne's right shoulder that extends downwards to the right and ends of the center of the bottom border; and various surface scratches, most of which are unobtrusive. The cardstock is has been mounted to has chips of varying sizes and signs of wear along the edges as shown in the accompanying photos. The outer front cover has signs of wear on the corners; a 1 in. vertical indentation and some scuffing in the top left corner; a 4 in. diagonal crease in the right border; and some creases in the right half of the top border.
As this is a presentation photograph, and is also hand-signed by the photographer himself, this piece is unique and was not meant for mass distribution, as were the posters, lobby cards, 8x10 photos, and other studio-issued publicity material. It will be shipped flat and protected between multiple pieces of sturdy rigid cardboard to prevent damage while in transit.
The Conqueror is sometimes called "An RKO Radioactive Picture." It was filmed near an active nuclear test site in Utah, where eleven tests had reportedly been carried out in the year before the production landed there. Not surprisingly, the set was contaminated by nuclear fallout, but producer Howard Hughes and the local population had been reassured by the Atomic Energy Commission that the area was completely safe. Photographs exist of John Wayne holding a Geiger counter that reportedly made so much noise that he simply thought it was broken. After location shooting, Hughes had tons of contaminated soil transported back to Hollywood in order to match interior shooting done there. Over the next thirty years, 91 of the 220 cast and crew members had developed a form of cancer. Forty-six had died, including John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendáriz (who shot himself soon after learning he had terminal cancer), Agnes Moorehead, John Hoyt and director Dick Powell. Lee Van Cleef had throat cancer, but died of a heart attack. The count did not include several hundred local Native Americans who played extras, or relatives of the cast and crew who visited the set, including John Wayne's son, Michael. A "People" magazine article quoted the reaction of a scientist from the Pentagon's Defense Nuclear Agency to the news, "Please, God, don't let us have killed John Wayne." As of June 2011, the article is available in its archive online. |