Beau Sabreur (1928, Gary Cooper, Evelyn Brent, Noah Beery Sr, William Powell, Roscoe Karn) – Classic Movie Review 10,595

In this 1928 Paramount silent version of Percival Christopher Wren’s famous story Beau Sabreur, young Gary Cooper stars as Beau, the French officer who is despatched by his uncle-general (Frank Reicher) to fight the Riffs in the desert and make a pact with the sheikh (Noah Beery Sr), and falls for lovely American writer Mary Vanbrugh (Evelyn Brent).

The dashing Cooper’s star turn as Major Henri de Beaujolais is supported by William Powell as Becque and Noah Beery Sr as Sheikh El Hammel in this apparently fine silent romantic action adventure picture that was not nearly as successful at the box-office as its 1926 predecessor, Beau Geste.

Unfortunately, the released feature version is a lost film and only a trailer exists of this film today, along with some stills, lobby cards and posters.

Follow-up: Beau Ideal in 1931.

Also in the cast are Evelyn Brent, Noah Beery Sr, William Powell, Roscoe Karns, Mitchell Lewis, Arnold Kent, Frank Reicher, Oscar Smith, Arnold Kent, Raoul Paoli, Joan Standing and Alberto Morin.

The story is by Thomas J Geraghty and the titles are by Julian Johnson, based on the 1926 novel Beau Sabreur by P. C. Wren.

It was filmed on location in Guadalupe, California, in Red Rock Canyon State Park in Cantil, California, and in Yuma, Arizona.

In the novel, Major Henri de Beaujolais is an officer of spahis, the Algerian colonial cavalry of the French Army, and Gary Cooper is shown wearing the distinctive spahi uniform in all surviving stills of Beau Sabreur, so it is likely that this lost film has no connection with the better known Foreign Legion.

Two of Cooper’s silent films – Beau Sabreur (1928) and The Legion of the Condemned (1928) – are now considered lost films.

Beau Sabreur is directed by John Waters, runs 70 minutes (seven reels), is produced by Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, distributed by Paramount Pictures, is written by Thomas J Geraghty and Julian Johnson, is shot in black and white by Charles Edgar Schoenbaum, is produced by Adolph Zukor, Jesse L Lasky and B P Schulberg,

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,595

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