beau geste

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Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It has been adapted for the screen several times.

Plot summary

Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist, the main narrator (among others) is by contrast his small brother John, the three Geste brothers of Brandon Abbas are used as a metaphor for the British upper class values of that time gone by, and "the decent thing to do" is in fact the leitmotif of the novel. The Geste brothers are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt, the rest of Beau's band are his cousins Isobel and Claudia and Lady Patricia's relative Augustus. When a precious jewel known as the "Blue Water" goes missing, suspicion falls on the young people, and Beau leaves Britain to join the French Foreign Legion followed by his brothers, Digby (his twin) and John. There, after some adventure and the separation from Digby, the sadistic Sergeant Lejaune gets the command of the little garrison at Fort Zinderneuf in the French African Colony and only the attack by Tuaregs prevents a mutiny and mass desertion. Through all the book and adventures Beau's behaviour is true to France and the Legion and he dies at his post. At Brandon Abbas, the last survivor of the three brothers, John is welcomed by their aunt and his fiancée Isobel and the reason for the jewel theft is revealed to have been a matter of honour, and the only "decent thing" possible.^{[citation needed]}

Title

The phrase "beau geste" is from the French, meaning "a gracious (or fine) gesture".^[1]

In French, the phrase includes the suggestion of a fine gesture with unwelcome or futile consequences^[1], and also an allusion to the chanson de geste, a literary poem celebrating the legendary deeds of a hero. ^[2]

Sequels

P.C. Wren elaborated the plot in the sequels Beau Sabreur (The story of Henry de Beaujolais and the brothers Maria and Otis Vanbrugh) and Beau Ideal (Otis Vanbrugh and The Angel of Death). Good Gestes is a collection of short tales (about half of them about the Geste brothers and their American friends Hank and Buddy... the later feature prominently in Beau Sabreur and Beau Ideal). The so-called "trilogy" comes full circle in Spanish Maine (UK) or The Desert Heritage (USA), where loose ends are tied up and the tale comes round full circle.^{[citation needed]}

Analysis

The original novel, on which the various films are more or less loosely based, provides a detailed and fairly authentic description of life in the pre-1914 Foreign Legion, which has led to (unproven) suggestions that P. C. Wren himself served with the legion.^{[citation needed]}

Adaptations

• Beau Geste (1926), starring Ronald Colman, William Powell, Noah Beery
• Beau Geste (1939), with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston
• Beau Geste (1966), with Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure, Telly Savalas
• Omnibus: The British Hero (1973 BBC TV documentary/selected dramatised scenes) with Christopher Cazenove
• The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
• Beau Geste (1982 BBC mini-series)

Although minor plot points separate the film versions, all of them share a common element of a stolen gem which one of the Geste brothers, Michael "Beau" Geste, is thought to have stolen from his adoptive family. He subsequently runs away to join the Foreign Legion. In some adaptations, more than one of the Geste brothers and his childhood friend Joe McCarthy join him or go to find him.^{[citation needed]}

Beau Geste was also adapted for the stage in 1929 by British theatrical producer Basil Dean. The production featured Laurence Olivier in the lead role. The play ran for just five weeks.^[3]

Parodies

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• The Goon Show episode "Under Two Floorboards (A Story of the Legion)" (1955)
• Follow that Camel (1967) A Carry on film.
• The Generation Game (around 1975) did a parody of Beau Geste, may have been the first to use the names Beau Peep and Beau Nidle.
• The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), starring Marty Feldman, Ann-Margret and Michael York
• Soul Music (1994), by Terry Pratchett. The Death of the Discworld uses the name Beau Nidle and has him join the Klatchian Foreign Legion, a parody of the French Foreign Legion.
• In the early 1980s, Beau Geste was a recurring story arc in Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, during which Snoopy was a leader of a squad of Legionnaires (usually played by birds, Snoopy's "Beagle Scouts") and Ft. Zinderneuf was Snoopy's doghouse.
• The comic strip Crock claims to be "the greatest and longest-running parody" of Beau Geste ^[4], although it bears little similarity to the original novel.
• A popular comic strip entitled Beau Peep has featured in British newspapers and separate anthologies since 1977. This version has the most similarities to the original novel, although it has a distinctive identity in its own right and a large fan base.
• Beau Hunks 1931, a 1931 movie starring Laurel and Hardy.

References

Bibliography

• Thomas, R. S. (1990-12). "P C Wren's Beau Geste". Children's Literature in Education, vol. 21, no. 4, December 1990.
• Coleman, Terry (2005). Olivier. Macmillan. ISBN 0805075364.

External links