5th Shock And show it to them, start when they are toddlers, they get more than we know. Adventure, loyalty, blood, family. And the power of one's word.

barister-252-786083 How, in the middle of a desert, did they find stone to build the fort? Or to build the oasis walls? Why are they dressed in such heavy uniforms in the desert? The only one I ever saw sweating was a few beads of sweat on Markov while he was setting up the dead soldiers on the battlements. The Tuaregs (the enemy) are portrayed like they used to portray "Indians" in cowboy movies, completely anonymously and as "bad guys". Ignores the fact that the French Legion had no business being in North Africa at the time other than as an imperialist power. Why would Digby stand straight up in full view of the enemy and blow his bugle? Did he have a death wish? Why would Markov have tolerated his little sycophant (played by J. Carroll Naish) since he was a completely untrained soldier and coward? Contradicted everything Markov stood for. It took place in England, but none of the brothers had English accents (though the young Donald O'Connor tried to produce one)? Susan Hayward was totally wasted with only a few lines and just there to look pretty. If she was raised as a sister to the brothers, it makes no sense that one would have been in love with her since childhood.Just too many holes making this movie awfully dated. The only decent acting was done by Brian Donlevy (Markov).

lmbelt Last night, upon receiving a mail order, borderline watchable DVD, I played the silent version of Beau Geste starring Ronald Colman. The 1939 version is not a scene-by-scene remake, but it is darn close. Where there are notable differences they are for the better. But I heartily recommend the 1926 film to those who love the Cooper-Milland-Donleavy version and are willing to pay for a crappy transfer. (Why there are so many great movies that have never been released in a cleaned-up DVD version beats me).I'll blame shelling out for a sub-par, silent version on my dad. I was blessed to have a father who loved movies. Dad's gone now. But his encouragement and never-ending desire to turn me on to the films he loved as a kid lives on in me. So many great movies together on the couch in the era of four channel television.Some of dad's favorites, "The Thief of Bagdad," "Trail of the Lonesome Pine," "Gunga Din," and "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" to name a few, are now my own. As for "Beau Geste," I've lost count of how many times I have watched it. I seem to recall my first viewing. The set of foreign legion toy soldiers that followed. My pal next door had a sand box. Soon we were building our own Fort Zinderneuf and waging mock battles.Sappy, huh. Well that's okay. It's hard to embrace old movies without a little sap. But there's more to it than just nostalgia. As a child, I loved this movie for the adventure, the action, and what may be the most drop-dead eerie beginning in film history. Fifty years later, the love between brothers (I have three), between an adoptive parent and her children,and between lovers separated by time, distance, and moral dilemma are new reasons I will be screening the 1939 version this evening (not to mention one of the most odious screen villains).There will be several times when I "well up." The opening quote from Kayam (or the Koran) is a slam dunk. The first viking funeral not so much, though it use to tear me up as a child. The death of Beau. The second death second funeral, and the reading of his letter.If you've made it this far without an insulin shot, and are under the age of forty, I challenge you to come up with films made since 1980 that you feel will have this kind of hold on you when you're sixty. If you're having trouble thinking of any, I suggest you investigate some of the classics of the '30's and '40's. Hell, even a silent flick or two. How else are you going to pass the lasting beauty of film down to your children? Some closing observations in comparing the silent version and first remake of "Beau Geste:" (1) Wow what a difference a soundtrack makes! I'm talking orchestration not dialogue, the silent DVD version I now own having a typical, and possibly original, score. I can hear that awesomely spooky and provocative music from the '39 film and I have yet to put the DVD in! Then again, think of your favorite films, then try to identify one with a score you don't find incredible! 2) Watching Ronald Colman act, I started to believe I was actually hearing him! Kinda like a foreign language film where halfway in you think you now know the language. That remarkable "Prisoner of Zenda" voice spoke to me. But had I not known Colman, would his performance have seemed so powerful? I'll never know.(3) Victor McLaglen plays one of the American legionnaires. Small role notwithstanding, I kept seeing him as one of the sergeants in "Gunga Din." Same mischievous grin and infectious laughter you could only imagine. Same happy-go-lucky Irishman though younger and thinner.

dougdoepke Three brothers join the Foreign Legion following the mysterious disappearance of a valuable sapphire.This movie came out the same year (1939) as that other masterpiece of colonial adventure, The Four Feathers. Both make first-rate use of family bonds and family honor to create a strong emotional context to all the colorful combat. Those bonds really work here, establishing a strong sense of one for all and all for one. Plus the fact that the brothers have been adopted by the kindly Lady Brandon (Thatcher) not only lends poignancy, but makes the central twist work really well.As good as Cooper-Milland-Foster are, it's really Donlevy's movie. His cruel martinet has stayed with me over the decades—the military haircut, the perfectly squared shoulders, the command voice. He not only commands his legionnaires, he commands the movie, as well. And, when he falls, I still have mixed emotions, despite his many acts of cruelty. It's a crackling good story, but it's his imposing presence that makes the adventure memorable. No wonder Donlevy was Oscar-nominated, a near-perfect blend of character and actor.Two minor reservations. Cooper's fine in Beau's role, more animated than usual. However, at nearly forty, he appears a shade too old for the youthful part. Also, I've never been able to reconcile to the relative ease with which the mutiny is put down. There's like five guys with guns facing a hundred guys who stand to be executed for their planned mutiny, yet they meekly give up, especially after Schwartz (the great Albert Dekker) has so powerfully roused them to action. To me, director Wellman's staging here is less than convincing.Nonetheless, the mix of mystery, emotion and action remains superbly entertaining, and is ironically, one of the few movies that actually lives up to its title.