Movies:
Beau Geste
- Rating:
- Genre: Adventure
- Movie Type: War Adventure
- Themes: Sibling Relationships, Miscarriage of Justice, Foreign Legion
- Director: Herbert Brenon
- Main Cast: Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, Alice Joyce, Mary Brian
- Release Year: 1926
- Country: US
- Run Time: 105 minutes
Plot
Ronald Colman plays the title role in the first of several screen adaptations of Christopher Wren's tale of adventure in the foreign legion. Beau is the youngest of three brothers who fall into an ethical dilemma when their aunt resorts to stealing valuable jewelry from the family's collection to pay off her home. Beau takes the blame for the crime and, before he can be put in jail, flees the country, with his brothers John (Ralph Forbes) and Digby (Neil Hamilton) in tow. The Geste Brothers eventually join the French Foreign Legion, where they suffer under the tyrannical leadership of the cruel Sgt. Lejaune (Noah Beery Sr.). Unknown to Beau, Lejaune is in cahoots with men who want to capture the Geste Brothers and bring them to justice, but when Arab forces attack the Legion compound, the valiant Gestes fight with such bravery that even Lejaune is impressed with their selfless courage. It's said that Ronald Colman considered his performance in Beau Geste the finest work of his career; lip readers might get a chuckle out of some of Noah Beery Sr.'s non-subtitled dialogue, which today would have pushed the film into an R rating if it were audible. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie GuideReview
One of the most familiar movie clichés in the first half-century of cinema was young men running off to join the French Foreign Legion. This plot was already an evergreen when Beau Geste was first filmed in 1926. Three British brothers looking for adventure join the legion after getting mixed up in a jewel theft. They end up fighting Arab insurgents in the desert and suffering under a brutal sergeant (Noah Beery Sr.). Ronald Colman had the lead role in the film, directed by Herbert Brenon. Beau Geste is one of the best remembered films of the silent era and has been much imitated. There was a sequel in 1931, Beau Ideal, and a 1939 remake starring Gary Cooper was a huge box office hit. Yet another version was filmed in 1966, but it was much less successful. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie GuideCast
- Ronald Colman - Michael "Beau" Geste
- Neil Hamilton - Digby Geste
- Ralph Forbes - John Geste
- Alice Joyce - Lady Brandon
- Mary Brian - Isobel
Noah Beery, Sr. - Sgt. Lejaune; Norman Trevor - Maj. de Beaujolais; William Powell - Boldini; Victor McLaglen - Hank; Donald Stuart - Buddy; Philippe DeLacy - Digby (younger); Paul McAllister - St. Andre; Mickey McBan - John (younger); George Regas; Bernard Siegel - Schwartz; Ram Singh - Prince Ram Singh; Maurice Murphy - Beau (younger)
