Beau Geste (1926)

Michael "Beau" Geste leaves England in disgrace and joins the infamous French Foreign Legion. He is reunited with his two brothers in North Africa, where they face greater danger from their... See full summary »

Director:

Herbert Brenon

Writers:

Herbert Brenon (adaptation), John Russell (adaptation),

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Colman	...	Michael 'Beau' Geste
Neil Hamilton	...	Digby Geste
Ralph Forbes	...	John Geste
Alice Joyce	...	Lady Patricia Brandon
Mary Brian	...	Isabel Rivers
Noah Beery	...	Sgt. Lejaune
Norman Trevor	...	Maj. de Beaujolais
William Powell	...	Boldini
George Regas	...	Maris
Bernard Siegel	...	Schwartz
Victor McLaglen	...	Hank
Donald Stuart	...	Buddy
Paul McAllister	...	St. Andre
Redmond Finlay	...	Cordere
Ram Singh	...	Prince Ram Singh

Storyline

Michael "Beau" Geste leaves England in disgrace and joins the infamous French Foreign Legion. He is reunited with his two brothers in North Africa, where they face greater danger from their own sadistic commander than from the rebellious Arabs.

---

Plot Keywords:

foreign legion | brother | whip | soldier | punishment | 

---

Taglines:

Hard lives, quick deaths, undying love!

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blutsbrüderschaft

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Dunes, Imperial County, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount's biggest hit of 1926.

---

Connections

Followed by Beau Ideal (1931)

User Reviews

Three Stout Fellas

Both this original and the Wellman remake are marvellous Golden Age films - it's difficult to compare silents with talkies, or either to the book. In the book you use your imagination, this 1926 original had a cast of thousands, '39 was a populist version with identical screenplay, full orchestra and name changes, '66 only had 2 brothers and muzak, whilst if made today would probably have nothing real in it at all.

Three English brothers - Ronald Colman, Ralph Forbes and Neil Hamilton

• join the French Foreign Legion to escape one of them being accused of

stealing a large diamond. They find a hard life awaiting them, coming from the hordes of seething Arabs but more especially their own intense Sergeant Lejaune (Noah Beery). The greasy rat Boldini as played by William Powell jarred a little, but only because you know how urbane he really was in retrospect, while you can almost hear Colman uttering his lines in his own inimitable way. The acting was believable, the direction appeared faultless and generally production values were Paramount-high.

Although I've seen the '39 film many more times I'm finding every time I watch this one (definitely unremastered too) it grows on me more and more, so heartily recommend it as the next best thing to Wren's novel.