Beau Geste

heroic, impressive, mixture of childhood ' s games and heroism, it is a classic in a special manner. for social values who propose more artistic virtue. for the great performances and for Gary Cooper who propose the same great man's type but he has same great job and his character is more than convincing, interesting or seductive. the old flavor is only an ingredient in this case. the detail who gives color to memories. it is a beautiful film scene by scene. a wise script, a lovely acting. and a generous message. that is all. in that case, the key for a splendid movie and interesting characters (Markoff by Brian Donlevy could be the first )

I am surprised that no one seems to have noticed that this story is very close to Hank Hathaway's THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER. Same kind of topic and atmosphere, exotic atmosphere. I won't speak more about this absolute gem, among the Gary Cooper's best films.

How different adventure movies from in the 1930s are from their counterparts today. Honor, loyalty, bravery, sacrifice...what concepts! Beau Geste has them all in spades. A very interesting story, this movie is as much a mystery as adventure story. It spans 15 years, following three adopted brothers from their childhood in an English manor house to their membership in the French Foreign Legion and their stationing at a fort in the remote reaches of the Sahara. If you are tired of the paperthin, hole-ridden plots of today's action movies that rely on CGI and special effects instead of story, then this movie is for you!

Seriously? The film spends half an hour showing spoiled English schoolboys playing as sailors and soldiers. Then the softest picture of Legion life and training imaginable. Even Laurel and Hardy showed the Legion as rougher than this film. Far from being "rousing" or an adventure, I found it pretty dull since most of the film has no action, no war, no fighting. And Cooper has the least believable English accent ever. Only Brian Donlevy's performance as the crazed sergeant deserves any praise.

This fine film wears exceedingly well more than 60 years after it was made. The story of a jewel with a haunted past, a trio of gallant brothers, a beautiful girl and the French foreign Legion make for for a mighty entertaining diversion. Brian Donleavy's riveting Oscar performance, as brutal Sargent Markoff, alone is worth the price of admission. Excellent acting all around From Gary Cooper's Beau Geste, his two stalwart 'brothers' played by Ray Milland and Robert Preston to that of J. carrol Naish as the 'human hyena' Rassinoff and Albert Dekker plays a menacingly mutinous legionaire. A great story of love and loyalty set in a rousing adventure film. A must see.

This is why we go to the movies. Great story telling, great characters, great actors, great directing, suspense, a certain pace and so on... a perfect movie. Why, oh why they don´t make movies like this anymore? Why are we treated to flicks like "King Arthur"? Have we lost it? It´s all about adventure. Suspense, thrill, wit....Well, they would nowadays add some cruelties and that would be okay but it still would be superior to 99,9% of recent Hollywood flics. Come back Capra, Hawks, Frankenheimer, Zinnemann, Ford, Hitchcock, Lang et al. - please come back 10/10

I know this, along with Sherlock Holmes, is one of the most filmed stories ever, but the 1939 version must stand out as the best. The mood and atmosphere of the desert is captured brilliantly, the photography is excellent as is the cast. Gary Cooper fits the role of Beau exactly as one would have imagined him, while the brothers played by Ray Milland and Robert Preston are spot on. Of course Brian Donlevy was at his best in this film as the vicious Sergeant, and it is one of the few times when I have thought he acted well. Susan Hayward's role was minor, but of course she was a virtual unknown at that time. It was good to see Donald O'Connor as a young Beau, as well as stalwarts like Albert Dekker and J. Carrol Naish. The opening scene is quite remarkable even by todays standards.