The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Marty Feldman

Writers:

Chris Allen (writer)
Sam Bobrick (story)

Release Date:

20 December 1977 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Adventure

Tagline:

A DIFFERENT kind of love story

Plot:

The priceless Blue Water sapphire is coveted by the heirs of Sir Hector Geste - his new wife, Flavia; his daughter...

Plot Keywords:

1900s | Foreign Legion | Camel | Spoof | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Ann-Margret	...	Flavia Geste
Marty Feldman	...	Dagobert 'Digby' Geste
Michael York	...	Beau Geste
Peter Ustinov	...	Markov
James Earl Jones	...	Sheikh
Trevor Howard	...	Sir Hector
Henry Gibson	...	General Pecheur
Terry-Thomas	...	Governor
Roy Kinnear	...	Boldini
Spike Milligan	...	Crumble
Avery Schreiber	...	Sheikh's Aide & Camel Salesman
Hugh Griffith	...	Judge
Irene Handl	...	Miss Wormwood
Sinéad Cusack	...	Isabel Geste
Henry Polic II	...	Captain Merdmanger

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | UK:A (1977) | UK:PG (1987) | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Universal Pictures

Quotes:

Markov: I have reason to believe it is secreted about his person.
Boldini: It's not in his pockets; I have picked them.
Markov: In that case, you will have to pick his person.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hope Island: Batten Down the Hatches (#1.12)" (1999)

It out Melbrookses Mel Brooks

I remember Marty Feldman, having first seen him in TV's "At Last the 1948 Show" in the '60's and his eccentric brand of humour has not aged much. I say much because sadly the naughty sexual innuendo and double entendre's do make me wish for a simpler age. A time when the thought of aged Trevor Howard and an absolutely stunning Anne-Margaret heading for the bedroom to do "something creative with a chandelier and a feather duster" brought forth a chortle.

The rest however is top notch improvisational comedy. Constantly watchable if not thigh-slappingly funny. It is a stream of amusement interspersed with runs of out loud laughter.

The horse with the prosthetic leg matching his rider is brilliant. As another poster stated the large range of quality actors appearing is a tribute to Marty Feldman's professional standing. To see Darth Vader, er, I mean James Earl Jones doing a very funny parody of Terry-Thomas who actually appears in the film is wonderful.

I liked Mel Brooks' "Men in Tights" which closely resembles "Last Remakes" style but somehow Marty could skew the humour that one more degree to make it just that little bit more eccentrically funny.

It may seem a bit silly in parts now, but overall it is thoroughly enjoyable. And finding a child look-a-like for Marty Feldman made me push this films rating from a 7 to an 8.