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Beau Geste (1939)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
15 September 1939 (USA)
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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...
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Plot Keywords:
Brother
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Foreign Legion
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Desert
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Punishment
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Jewel Theft
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
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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)
(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:
Viewers Are Welcomed To Fort Zinderneuf
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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
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.
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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.
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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.
[...]
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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.
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Hope Island: Batten Down the Hatches (#1.12)" (1999)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (28 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Beau Geste (1939)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Markoff was the real hero | hvypetals |
| Tom Saywer Connection | leroykevin |
| Mouse was wired | Avalon123 |
| DVD? | dcheney |
| why take the gem? | jwright911 |
| Other recommendations?? | scmcclain |
Recommendations
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| Beau Geste | Beau Geste | Capitaine Conan | Under Two Flags | Beau Ideal |
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A magnificent blue sapphire is stolen from the English estate of Brandon Abbas. BEAU GESTE and his two younger brothers are all suspected of the crime. To save their family from dishonor, they each make their way to join the French Foreign Legion. In the emptiness of North Africa, supported only by their love for each other, they will encounter pure evil...
Not only a wonderful adventure story, BEAU GESTE is also a morality tale on the true meaning of courage, the loyalty of brother for brother, and the responsibilities of virtue when confronted by absolute evil. Examined this way, the film can be enjoyed by the thoughtful viewer on many levels.
In the title role, Gary Cooper is excellent, exuding quiet strength & righteousness. Robert Preston & Ray Milland, as his younger brothers, give top-notch support. Here is a band of brothers to be reckoned with.
But it is the villains who really steal the show. Brian Donlevy is unforgettable as Sergeant Markoff, a sadist from the lowest depths of hell. To watch him drive the defense of his outpost, using the living & the dead, is to see a man driven mad by the evil chewing away at his very soul.
J. Carrol Naish is equally memorable as Rasinoff the rat. A little man used to lies & thievery, he becomes the natural toady for Markoff. When his fear finally drives him insane atop the watch tower, and he begins to cackle like a beast, it is a horrible sound to hear.
Broderick Crawford appears as a cowboy turned legionnaire. Albert Dekker is formidable as a mutinous soldier. Adolescent Donald O'Connor plays young Beau.
Director William Wellman gave the film fine atmospherics. Who can forget, in the very first sequence, the quiet ride up to eerie Fort Zinderneuf, manned by its unblinking sentries? The flashback scenes are rather tedious, but when the plot returns to the desert, there's adventure enough for the most jaded viewer.