Beau Geste **** (1926, Ronald Colman, Ralph Forbes, Neil Hamilton) – Classic Movie Review 5412

Director Herbert Brenon’s 1926 French Foreign Legion adventure movie Beau Geste is an outstanding silent film classic version of Percival Christopher Wren’s famous 1924 novel tale of English upper-crust brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste (played by Ronald Colman, Ralph Forbes and Neil Hamilton).

They join the French Foreign Legion in North Africa, where they have to contend with an Arab attack, a mutiny and an evil sadistic commander, Sergeant Lejaune (Noah Beery Sr, playing with the greatest relish).

This beautiful Paramount Pictures production ranks among the most popular silent films of its Twenties decade, with its lavish budget, superb story-telling, ideal performances and rousing action sequences, some reputedly originally in colour, though Technicolor’s records dispute this. The whole movie is gorgeously photographed by J Roy Hunt.

As Michael ‘Beau’ Geste, Colman is perfectly cast in the title role in a sterling portrait of heroic nobility.

Also in the cast are Alice Joyce as as Lady Patricia Brandon, Mary Brian as Isabel Rivers, William Powell as Boldini, Victor McLaglen as Hank, Norman Trevor as Major de Beaujolais, Donald Stuart as Buddy, George Regas as Maris, Bernard Siegel as Schwartz, Paul McAllister as St Andre, Redmond Finlay as Cordere, Ram Singh [Bhogwan Singh] as Prince Ram Singh, Mickey McBain, Maurice Murphy as Young Beau Geste, Philippe De Lacy, Rex Ingram and Rolfe Sedan.

Gary Cooper appears as an American Legionnaire in minutes 8-12 as an uncredited extra.

The movie is still going strong as, happily, prints still exist. It is in the US public domain in 2022 along with all films produced in 1926.

It was filmed in the desert east of Burlingame, California, and southwest of Yuma, Arizona. They were planning to film in Algeria but the Riff conflict intervened.

It won the Photoplay magazine Medal of Honor, one of the first awards honouring best picture of the year.

It had a budget of $900,000 and took $1.5 million at the box office.

Beau Geste is directed by Herbert Brenon, runs 101 minutes (11 reels), is made by Paramount Pictures, is released by Paramount Pictures (1926) (US) and Famous-Lasky Film Service (1927) (UK), is written by Paul Schofield, John Russell and Herbert Brenon, is shot by J Roy Hunt, is produced by Adolph Zukor, Jesse L Lasky, William LeBaron and Herbert Brenon, is scored by Hugo Riesenfeld and is designed by Julian Boone Fleming.

Follow-up: Beau Sabreur (1928) with Gary Cooper and many of the same cast, including Noah Beery Sr and William Powell, and the 1931 sequel Beau Ideal with Ralph Forbes again.

Remakes: Beau Geste (1939) with Gary Cooper and Ray Milland and Beau Geste (1966) with Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure, Telly Savalas and Leslie Nielsen.

Spoofs: Beau Hunks and The Last Remake of Beau Geste.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5412

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