Beau Geste (1966)

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:

Douglas Heyes

Writers:

Percival Christopher Wren (novel), Douglas Heyes (screenplay)

Stars:

Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure, Leslie Nielsen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guy Stockwell	...	Beau Geste
Doug McClure	...	John
Leslie Nielsen	...	Lt. De Ruse
Telly Savalas	...	Sgt. Maj. Dagineau
David Mauro	...	Boldini
Robert Wolders	...	Fouchet
Leo Gordon	...	Krauss
Michael Constantine	...	Rostov
Malachi Throne	...	Kerjacki
Joe De Santis	...	Maj. Beaujolais (as Joe DeSantis)
X Brands	...	Vallejo
Michael Carr	...	Sergeant
George Keymas	...	Platoon sergeant
Patrick Whyte	...	Surgeon
Jeff Nelson

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.

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Plot Keywords:

brother | foreign legion | north africa | jewel theft | arms tied overhead | 

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Genres:

Drama | War | Action | Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 September 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beau Gest

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are no female speaking parts in this movie.

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Goofs

Throughout the film the legionnaires wear the collar insignia of the 2nd Regiment of the Foreign Legion (2e REI.) Yet most of their geographic references are to Algeria. When the detachment relieves Ft. Zinderneuf the previous commander's orders are to return to Sidi bel Abbes, the Legion HQ in Algeria. Likewise, during the mutiny the legionnaires discuss escaping across the border to Morocco. Additionally the legionnaires are in combat with the Tuaregs, a Saharan tribe found in Southern Algeria. However, during the period of the film (and throughout the inter-war period) the 2e REI was stationed in Morocco, fighting the Berbers, and not in Algeria, which was instead garrisoned by the 1e RE.

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Quotes

Sergeant Major Dagineau: [to Beau Geste] So, you couldn't wait till my back was turned. Good, because it won't be a bullet you'll get from me, but you'll beg for one before you die. I promise you.

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Connections

Version of Beau Geste (1982)

User Reviews

Why never released on video?

Very odd that, as of this date, this very watchable film was never released on tape or DVD, despite other Universal films from the same time period being released directly by Universal or licensed to other companies, particularly Good Times. There's a great supporting cast of mostly actors more familiar from television than from films, so one gets the impression that it's more of a made-for-TV film rather than a theatrical release; however, the action and scope is much larger than the TV movie fare of that time. The film has two nice battle scenes, one occurring at the mid-way point, and the extended climatic siege. It's a little jarring to deal with the constant shifting from the interior filmed fort scenes to the exterior filmed scenes of the Tauregs attacking, but that's my only complaint. The battle itself is well staged and exciting. It's interesting to note that Dougles Heyes, the director, used this same exact story regarding the letter threat against Dagineau in one of the episodes of "Rin-tin-tin" which he directed in the fifties. There, the threat was against Lt. Masters, who a trooper believed caused his brother's death in an Indian battle and wanted Masters to pay. Considering that RTT was a Columbia product and this Beau Geste was Universal, it's surprising some kind of copyright infringement was not noted. All-in-all, this is the kind of film that stands up to repeated viewings if one allows some time to pass in between.