Why remake BEAU GESTE when it was so good the first two times around? Well, Universal had the rights to the story and some hot TV actors and thought they could sneak it past an unsuspecting public. As it turned out, this third version is not nearly as dismal as one might expect, and is
much more fun than the subsequent comedy version starring Marty Feldman, THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE.
In Ronald Colman's silent 1926 version and the more popular Gary Cooper edition of 1939, there were three Geste brothers; this time out there are only two, Americans Stockwell and McClure. They have joined the Foreign Legion after Stockwell took the rap for a crime he didn't commit, and now must
suffer the wrath of the sadistic Savalas (nowhere near as memorable as Brian Donlevy or Noah Beery) in the Legion.
The film was directed and scripted by Douglas Heyes, who was smart enough to know he couldn't improve on William Wellman's 1939 version, so he made some changes in plot and emphasis, and put a great deal of care into the casting of secondary roles. Gordon, Constantine, Throne, and Wolders are
especially good in their supporting parts. leave a comment
