IMDb > Beau Geste (1939)
Beau Geste
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Beau Geste (1939) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   2,005 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
William A. Wellman
Writers:
Robert Carson (writer)
Percival Christopher Wren (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Beau Geste on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 September 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Adventure | Drama | War more
Tagline:
AGAIN...the three Gestes face a thousand dangers of the Sahara for each other...and love! more
Plot:
Beau, John, and Digby Geste are three inseparable, adventurous brothers who haven been adopted into the wealthy household of Lady Brandon... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Celebrate Veteran’s Day with a War Movie Overload
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 11 November 2009, 2:33 PM, PST)
5 High-Tech Operas That Radically Transform the Stage
 (From Fast Company. 30 October 2009, 7:00 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Gallantly they lived and died more (28 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Gary Cooper ... Michael 'Beau' Geste

Ray Milland ... John Geste
Robert Preston ... Digby Geste

Brian Donlevy ... Sgt. Markoff

Susan Hayward ... Isobel Rivers
J. Carrol Naish ... Rasinoff
Albert Dekker ... Legionnaire Schwartz

Broderick Crawford ... Hank Miller
Charles Barton ... Buddy McMonigal
James Stephenson ... Maj. Henri de Beaujolais
Heather Thatcher ... Lady Patricia Brandon
James Burke ... Lt. Dufour
G.P. Huntley ... Augustus Brandon (as George P. Huntley)
Harold Huber ... Legionnaire Voisin

Donald O'Connor ... Beau at age 12
more
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Arabic
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16
Filming Locations:
Buttercup Dunes, Imperial County, California, USA more
Company:
Paramount Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At the film's world premiere, the first reel of the 1926 silent version of "Beau Geste" was shown just before the entire 1939 sound version, in an effort to demonstrate how far films had advanced in thirteen years. This almost backfired because the 1939 film apparently followed the 1926 one extremely closely, and some of the first-night critics were annoyed rather than pleased at this, feeling that the 1939 version should have been more imaginative. However, this did not keep the 1939 version from becoming a smash hit and a film classic. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: After Markoff puts the first corpse back on the wall to give the illusion that there are many legionnaires on the wall, it is clear that the "corpse" is still breathing. more
Quotes:
Markoff: The jewel you stole. I want it.
Michael 'Beau' Geste: I have no jewel.
Markoff: I know you have.
Michael 'Beau' Geste: I haven't.
Markoff: Are you sure?
Michael 'Beau' Geste: Quite sure.
Markoff: I advise you to change your mind. Otherwise, when this is over, I may have to shoot you to make sure.
Michael 'Beau' Geste: I understand, Sergeant.
Markoff: You mean you'd rather not hand it over now and save your life?
Michael 'Beau' Geste: No, Sergeant.
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Hope Island: Batten Down the Hatches (#1.12)" (1999) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Gallantly they lived and died, 2 March 2006
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The three Geste brothers, wards of their Aunt Patricia, go off to the Foreign Legion because they are suspected of stealing a family jewel, the Blue Water sapphire. It's a question of family honor and pride back in the day when this was thought to be a real virtue.

Beau Geste continues as a story about the Geste brothers in the Foreign Legion. Since they are all adopted wards with no clue as their real origins, that might account for the distinctly non-British speech of Gary Cooper as Beau and Robert Preston as Digby. Ray Milland as the youngest brother John was presumably influenced by British speech at a young enough age.

Though the three brother leads perform more than adequately, Beau Geste is truly a film where the character actors take over. Brian Donlevy was given his one and only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as the sadistic Sergeant Markov. You won't forget him, I promise you.

Three others that also stand out are Albert Dekker who leads a mutiny against Markov at the distant outpost of Fort Zinderneuf and Stanley Andrews as Maris who tries to prevent the mutiny. And last but certainly not least is J. Carrol Naish who is Rassinov the eyes and ears of Markov among the men. Naish was an amazingly versatile character actor who played just about every ethnic type you could name. He blended into his characters so well he almost has no identity of his own on screen. And that hyenish high-pitched cackle that he uses for Rassinov will linger with you forever.

Susan Hayward is in this also as the love interest for Ray Milland. She's young and pretty wasted in a thankless role in a male dominated film. No hint at all here of the characters she later portrayed like Lillian Roth or Barbara Graham.

Beau Geste is the kind of adventure story for those who like their heroes gallant and romantic as so many of us do.

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Markoff was the real hero hvypetals
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