Truth and Consequences
The posters of John Wayne are so "John Wayne"! Whenever we picture John Wayne, don't we see the strong, handsome hero who will save the women and save the day?
Nowadays, John Wayne would need a machine gun and a lot of equipment to blow people up. But back in the days when movies were "MOVIES", all it took was a charismatic hero to inspire our imagination.
Also, the poster of Susan Hayward is so beautiful! What a lovely lady she was. When I look at the posters of Susan and John, I am reminded of a certain movie that they made together in the early ‘50s, called "The Conqueror". And what a tragedy behind the scenes this movie turned out to be.
"The Conqueror" under director Dick Powell, was filmed in Nevada, some time around 1956. During this time, our government decided to test atom bombs in Nevada. Without telling the people who lived in the area, or without protecting the people who lived in the area, these bombs would be tested repeatedly. The catastrophic consequences would be discovered much later, when so many people who lived in that area died and lost loved ones due to the bombs, the most famous of which was called "Dirty Harry".
During the filming of this movie, Agnes Moorehead told her costars that the dust that blew up from this bombing would probably kill them all some day. How right she was. By 1980, out of the 220 people in the cast of "The Conqueror", (not counting extras), 91 had contracted cancer and half of them had already died from it by then.
Perhaps it's time to think about consequences of actions. We tell children not to do certain things because of the consequences, and we learn in life by experience that this is important. Isn't it sad that so many wonderful relatively young and talented people had to die as a consequence of setting off bombs in Nevada? It's a shame that John Wayne the hero couldn't swoop down and protect the cast and the people living in the area. But it just goes to show you, there are no superheroes when it comes to the atom bomb. Or any bomb. Or Agent Orange. Or any other poison we put into our environment.
Nowadays, John Wayne would need a machine gun and a lot of equipment to blow people up. But back in the days when movies were "MOVIES", all it took was a charismatic hero to inspire our imagination.
Also, the poster of Susan Hayward is so beautiful! What a lovely lady she was. When I look at the posters of Susan and John, I am reminded of a certain movie that they made together in the early ‘50s, called "The Conqueror". And what a tragedy behind the scenes this movie turned out to be.
"The Conqueror" under director Dick Powell, was filmed in Nevada, some time around 1956. During this time, our government decided to test atom bombs in Nevada. Without telling the people who lived in the area, or without protecting the people who lived in the area, these bombs would be tested repeatedly. The catastrophic consequences would be discovered much later, when so many people who lived in that area died and lost loved ones due to the bombs, the most famous of which was called "Dirty Harry".
During the filming of this movie, Agnes Moorehead told her costars that the dust that blew up from this bombing would probably kill them all some day. How right she was. By 1980, out of the 220 people in the cast of "The Conqueror", (not counting extras), 91 had contracted cancer and half of them had already died from it by then.
Perhaps it's time to think about consequences of actions. We tell children not to do certain things because of the consequences, and we learn in life by experience that this is important. Isn't it sad that so many wonderful relatively young and talented people had to die as a consequence of setting off bombs in Nevada? It's a shame that John Wayne the hero couldn't swoop down and protect the cast and the people living in the area. But it just goes to show you, there are no superheroes when it comes to the atom bomb. Or any bomb. Or Agent Orange. Or any other poison we put into our environment.
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