Published via Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

No military formation has captured the popular imagination, at least in the 20th century, like the French Foreign Legion. Stories of adventure, heroism, and comradeship in exotic settings, with protagonists escaping a shady past or seeking redemption, proved quite appealing, offering an escapist alternative to the dreary banalities of modern life in the Western world. The work that contributed to that phenomenon the most is Beau Geste, the popular 1924 adventure novel by British author P. C. Wren, which was adapted for the screen four times (including a 1982 BBC TV series). The second adaptation, the 1939 eponymous film directed by William A. Wellman, is the best known of them all.

The plot begins in the Sahara, where a relief column of the French Foreign Legion commanded by Major Henri de Beaujolais (played by James Stephenson) arrives at Fort Zinderneuf, an outpost that had been besieged by Tuaregs. They find no enemy, but everyone in the fort is dead, with de Beaujolais discovering some baffling clues about what went on. The explanation is given through a flashback to a story that begins fifteen years earlier in England, where we are introduced to three young orphaned Geste brothers who live at the estate of their aunt, Lady Patricia Brandon (played by Helen Thatcher). Years later, the brothers, now grown men, see their beloved foster mother being forced to sell the valuable sapphire “Blue Water” to preserve her home. Before that happens, the “Blue Water” is stolen and Michael “Beau” Geste (played by Gary Cooper), one of the brothers, disappears, leaving a note taking credit for the theft. Having expressed interest in joining the Foreign Legion, two of his brothers – John (played by Ray Milland) and Digby (played by Robert Preston) – follow him there.

The brothers are reunited as legionnaires, but they also meet the sadistic Sergeant Markoff (played by Brian Donlevy) who has, thanks to the treacherous and pathetic new recruit Rasinoff (played by J. Carrol Naish), learned that the Geste brothers are hiding the “Blue Water”. Markoff wants to get it and deliberately assigns Digby to another unit, forcing Beau and John to travel to Zinderneuf, where they must endure all kinds of deprivation, attempted mutiny, and deadly Tuaregs who seek to overwhelm the fort.

Beau Geste was one of the most popular and highly regarded films of its time. This can be partially explained by it being a shot-for-shot remake of the first adaptation of Wren’s novel, the 1926 silent film starring Ronald Colman, which had also used the same desert location as its 1939 counterpart. Director William A. Wellman, one of the most versatile and talented filmmakers of Classic Hollywood, was a veteran of the French Foreign Legion during the First World War and made sure the film looked as authentic as possible (with details such as legionnaires being armed with Orbea 1892 Espagnol revolvers and Berthier rifles). Wellman handled the direction very well, especially in the film’s opening, which features a rather macabre mystery. The general tone shifts to something much lighter when the flashback depicts the protagonists’ happy childhood, with future musicals star Donald O’Connor playing the young Beau. The middle section of the film, in which the brothers are rather inexplicably reunited in the same unit, is much weaker. Things improve when the plot reaches the besieged fort and the audience finally discovers what was really going on, including scenes that repeat events from the beginning, featuring an almost Rashomon-like technique of using different perspectives. All that good work is, on the other hand, compromised by an epilogue that is too melodramatic.

Most of these problems can be traced to the script by Robert Carson and the original novel. The protagonists are rather bland, and Gary Cooper, despite being the biggest star, actually plays a very small role in the film. He delivers a good performance, as do Robert Preston and Ray Milland. Cooper’s role becomes even more disappointing when compared to his work in Morocco where he played a much more impressive legionnaire character. But their characters simply don’t stand out, and the romantic subplot between John and his beautiful cousin Isobel Rivers (played by Susan Hayward) barely exists and looks more like a routine concession to the unwritten rules of 1930s Hollywood. On the other hand, the character actors who play various shady and dangerous characters within the Legion ranks are much better, notably J. Carrol Naish as the pathetic and treacherous Rasinoff and especially Brian Donlevy as Sergeant Markoff. The latter is a power-hungry, seedy, and ruthless sadist, but the film, much to its credit, also portrays him as a capable military commander. This role brought Donlevy, who would make a career playing villains and rough characters, a nomination for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Released during Classic Hollywood’s annus mirabilis, Beau Geste was later placed in the same category as great works like Gone with the Wind or The Wizard of Oz, but this reputation doesn’t bear much scrutiny, at least from today’s perspective. It is, however, a solid film that can be recommended to fans of period adventure.

RATING: 6/10 (++)