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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © David Stewart
Genre: Anecdote
Word Count: 100
TITANIC BLUNDER
Remember renting VHS movies in the 1980’s? We’d make a big bowl of popcorn, put the cassette in the VCR and settle back for cheap entertainment on the small screen.
One Sunday, my husband, a huge John Wayne fan picked up a copy of “The Conqueror” starring his hero as Genghis Khan, infamous Mongol conqueror.
As the Duke uttered his lines, he sounded more like a Texas cowboy. “Your treacherous head is not safe on your shoulders—(Pilgrim).”
“Are you into this?” asked Jan, remote in hand.
“Are you?”
I’ll never know how the movie ended… Nor do I care.
***
Here’s the trailer for this miscast disaster:
To read more about this epic failure of a movie and the deadly consequences of shooting location CLICK HERE
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Fun story. I’m with you on this, Rochelle. Everyone knows that people in the olden days spoke with plummy English accents, like Laurence Olivier
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Dear Neil,
Well, we all know that people in the Bible had English accents. 😉 Then there was Kevin Costner who played Robin Hood with an American accent. Am I missing something? Thank you re my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Miscasting can be a disaster even with a super star.
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Dear Sadje,
This could easily be the worst miscast and one of the biggest disasters in history. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re most welcome 😍
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John Wayne had his place. It was in westerns. He was never my favourite actor, and to be honest I didn’t know he’d ventured from the familiar path. Thank you for enlightening me. Again.
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Dear Sandra,
This was one venture he should’ve left alone. Always happy to enlighten. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Not all movies are made equal. VHS, now there is a flashback! We’ve come a long way.
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Dear Tannille,
We’ve definitely come a long way. That movie certainly wasn’t equal. It was so bad it wasn’t even funny. Thank you for stopping by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yep, Hollywood is famous…or, should I say, infamous, for it’s portrayals of foreigners and natives with their stereotypical fictions… grrr… entire races culture destroyed in the process of greed…. grrrr…. Great story! I’m sure I saw that film. Mom “loved” John Wayne.
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Dear Bear,
I hope you weren’t subjected to that film. It could scar a child for life. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That explains my imbalanced self then, doesn’t it. I did have to watch it. Anything with John Wayne, and cowboys I had to watch. Can’t stand westerns to this day.
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I remember when they released this: This movie was so great that Howard Hughes wouldn’t let it be released so only he could see it in his private screening room! John Wayne at his best, finally revealed after (x number) of decades! We fell for it and I saw the first 30 minuets. Maybe. I quickly realized that Howard Hughes didn’t release it because he didn’t want to embarrass John, Howard’s film company, the producers and everyone else who had anything to do with the film. I saw what is supposed to be the worst movie ever filmed, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and this was much worse!!! Never was such an awful movie made, and it should have been buried along with Howard instead of found in his estate and released…
lol, I know, too much comment.
Anyway, I liked the anecdote. I am sure it is exactly how it went down in your house.
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Dear Trent,
Sadly the fallout wasn’t only from a terrible movie. Incidentally a friend and I watched Plan 9 for the fun of it. It was at least humorous. I don’t know if we even made 20 minutes of the conquering fiasco. Thank you for all of your comments. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I would say that this was the worst film I have ever seen. I couldn’t stand more than about 20 minutes or so. Horrible in every respect.
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Dear Jan,
You picked it out. 😉 (Yeah, it was awful. Blockbuster should’ve refunded our money.)
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I’ve heard the version dubbed for Chinese audiences in Mandarin is hysterically funny coming out of the Duke’s mouth.
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Dear James
The Chinese dubbing might have made the move better…or at least somewhat entertaining. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Never heard of it. And no wonder. It’s just silly to put John Wayne in such a role.
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Dear Linda,
I wonder if John Wayne went into hiding for a while. I would’ve if I’d been him.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I guess most famous actors do a clinker now and then 🙂
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Never heard of the movie, but the poster does foreshadow the disaster.
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Dear Bernadette,
Many have never heard of this excuse for a movie. Rightly so. 😉 Thank you for reading.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’ve not seen it and after following the link I’m hardly likely to!
I heard on today’s news that music cassettes are making a comeback – it could be VHS next!
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Dear Keith,
I find it amusing that we make progress and then decide the old way was actually better. Go figure. I don’t know if the movie is even available. I hope not. 😉 Thank you for coming by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Spoiler: It ended as one of the worst movies ever made. It looks like it would make a great capper for a bad movie party.
That movie’s the real reason Howard Hughes went into hiding. Every time he peed in a jar, he was thinking, “Ugk, The Conqueror. At least there weren’t any Commies involved.” That movie’s what happens when you “cancel” all the real actors and writers and get stuck with John Wayne.
Fun anecdote. We’ve all been saddled with bad movies.
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Dear Nobbin,
It’s a movie that sticks with you, no matter how hard you try to shake it from your memory. Who in their right mind would cast the Duke as a mongol? Oh the same kind of eejits who cast Mickey Rooney or Catherine Hepburn as Asians. Howard Hughes should’ve gone into hiding BEFORE he produced that piece of dreck.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Another chapter in our history of letting rich men make a muck-up of things.
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No argument, Lisa. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, you are welcome.
Shalom,
Lisa
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p.s. rich WHITE men, I meant to say
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Ha! I’ve heard this described as one of the worst movies of all time.
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Dear Liam,
It certainly fit the description. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Tell us how you really feel. 🙂
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I didn’t have that many words, Dawn. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Loved the tiny snippet of dialogue in this. Very sharp.
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Thank you, Mr. B. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I suspect in those days, films were produced more for a US audience in mind rather than the world wide woke of today.
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Dear James,
I’m not sure what anyone was thinking when they produced that sorry excuse for a movie. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I learn something every Friday, and sometimes on other days too. Ha
I was never a fan of John Wayne. His last movie was filmed in my hometown and the town was star struck. That location made sense.
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Dear Tracey,
I saw John Wayne’s last movie. It was creepy and it was one that made me want those two hours of my life back. Mind you, not creepy in the same way as The Conqueror. I liked a lot of his movies, though.
Thank you for your comments. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I hope you and Jan found better entertainment. There are very few movies I haven’t made it all the way through, but sounds like this is one I could add to that exclusive list. I don’t think I’ll bother.
I miss Blockbuster though. It always movie night feel a bit special.
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Dear Jen,
Most of the time we’ll stick with a movie even if it has a slow start. It was apparent with this one it wasn’t going to get any better. 😉 I miss Blockbuster, too. It did make movie night feel special. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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English can’t do American accents properly and Americans can’t do English. We used to rent videos – today’s kids don’t even know what they are!
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Dear Liz,
Why rent when you can stream?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I don’t blame them for not watching the movie to the end. The casting was horrible, but understandable in its day.
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Dear Athing,
I’m not sure how much we watched before deciding it wasn’t worth the time…not even with popcorn. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’ve never seen this movie and am not a huge John Wayne fan so ~ cut~ it’s off my list.
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Dear Lish,
If you weren’t a fan of John Wayne to begin with, this movie would send you out of the theater screaming. Fortunately, we didn’t see it in a theater. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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i’d never seen it, but he seemed unsuitable for the part. not a total loss as he got paid anyway. 🙂
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Good point, Plaridel. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. A step back in time indeed. Would be very unpolitically incorrect to make that kind of movies nowadays…Wishing you a creative weekend.
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Dear Susan,
It was a hectic weekend. 😉 Nope they definitely couldn’t have cast that movie the same way today. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi Rochelle this film looks atrocious – and I followed your link, indeed looks like a tragedy for many in more ways than one, thanks for sharing 💕
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Dear Angela,
There was only so much I could say in 100 words. I’m glad you followed the link. So much tragedy surrounding one of the worst movies of all time. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Some movies serve as good first courses to a total change of course for the night … 😉
Glad to join this week – been a LOOOOONG time, but you’re always in my heart.
Na’ama
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Na’ama Y’karah,
I’m doing a happy dance to see you here in Purpleville. 😀 I’m afraid this movie wasn’t a first course, a second course or even an olive pit….alhtough it was the pitts. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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LOL
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I think each age had its own pitfalls when it came to misguided beliefs about what constitutes entertainment and who peddles it the best. Good fun story, dear Rochelle.
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Dear Neel,
Yes there are bad movies from evey generation. Although I can’t imagine anything much worse than this one. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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LOL
Yes the actors they crammed into ‘period’ pieces or a ‘cultural classics’ can be a shock… when looking back at history. And the accents! Hahaha! Funny but also just terrible!
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Dear Laurie,
Yes, there’s so much to dislike about this particular movie. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I don’t care either. Haha. I liked Clint Eaetwood.
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Dear Brit,
I’ve seen Clint Eastwood in some real oinkers, too. 😉 Thank you for reading and laughing.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Haha. No doubt. 🙂
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