Beau Geste

"Thundering drama!"

1939 1h 52m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 113

AdventureDramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.

“Thundering drama!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Gary Cooper
Beau Geste
Ray Milland
John Geste
Robert Preston
Digby Geste
Brian Donlevy
Sergeant Markoff
Susan Hayward
Isobel Rivers
J. Carrol Naish
Rasinoff
Albert Dekker
Schwartz
Broderick Crawford
Hank Miller

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William A. Wellman
Writers: Robert Carson
Languages: English, Arabic, Hungarian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Arabic, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Theodor Sparkuhl. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thomas Scott shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gary Cooper and Ray Milland and Robert Preston carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Thundering drama!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0031088 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William A. Wellman directs. Theodor Sparkuhl behind the camera. Alfred Newman scores. Thomas Scott cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Arabic, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Arabic, Hungarian.
3Directed by William A. Wellman, shot by Theodor Sparkuhl. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Thomas Scott shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Gary Cooper and Ray Milland and Robert Preston carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Thundering drama!".
8IMDB entry: tt0031088 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "based on novel or book", "brother", "foreign legion", "soldier".

The technical file

Cinematography: Theodor Sparkuhl
Original score: Alfred Newman
Editing: Thomas Scott
Costume design: Edith Head
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Beau Geste (1939)

Also by

William A. Wellman

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-01-05
★ 9/10
Wonderful, just blooming wonderful. Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston play three orphaned brothers who are raised at Brandon Abbas by their aunt Lady Patricia Brandon. When money troubles hit the household, attention focuses on the Blue Water Sapphire, the last remaining wealth in the Brandon estate. The sapphire disappears and is thought to have been stolen, fleeing the scandal, the brothers follow each other into the Foreign Legion, where at Fort Zinderneuf they encounter sadistic Sgt. Markoff and face a test of their respective courage, honour and loyalty. Beau Geste is a truly classic picture, directed by the highly talented William A Wellman, it combines all the elements needed to entertain across the board. Heroes and villains, battles ahoy, potential mutiny and a mystery at its heart, all combine here to flesh out a ripper of an adventure picture. The actors all perform excellently, with a special mention for Brian Donlevy as the nasty Markoff, it's a truly frightening and bully like characterisation, while a nod of approval goes to Susan Hayward appearing in one of her first pictures. The art direction from Hans Dreier & Robert Odell was rightly nominated for an Academy Award and Alfred Newman's score flows seamlessly within the films fluctuating story. So many wonderful scenes to enjoy, watching the boys (and girl) as children playing Admirals is just wonderful, and sets us up a treat for the films emotive last reel - it's a masterstroke of story telling to observe the innocence of youth surrounded by staunch loyalty. Then there are all the sequences at Fort Zinderneuf, where the boys are now men of stature, but still they have that mystery baggage in their past to carry around with them, this makes for an involving viewing experience as the tests are thrown at them. As this is 1939 the film fails to give us any insight as to why the enemy is the enemy, the Tuaregs are merely the aggressors of the piece, but to over analyse and be critical there would be churlish. For Beau Geste is something of an action adventure leading light, it is in fact, a Beautiful Gesture indeed. 9/10

Production companies