Sorry, this movie sucks

Boring

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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.

The story had such good potential, but the talents of the leading actors were simply wasted. Future Academy Award winners, Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, and Susan Hayward, unfortunately, were given scripts that were totally amateurish and wooden.By strange irony, however, Brian Donley is brilliant as the sadistic sergeant Markov. Blessed by a powerful script, Donley gives one of the finest best supporting roles in Hollywood history. Whenever I watch this movie, I often just fast forward to the scenes featuring Sgt. Markov ... so deliciously evil with his cocked eye and imposing demeanor.

At the beginning, the title of "Beau Geste" appears for a brief moment elusively in dunes of wind and dust. After this the viewer follows a French platoon discovering a deserted fortress all of whose guards are armed but dead. The incomprehensible mindlessness of war is drawn with simple crude strokes, leaving the audience gasp of astonishment. Taking a few steps back to shed light on the beginning, the film tells the story of three brothers who join the foreign league. During their service they come across with a cruel general, Arabic rebels and moral that is highly questionable. "Beau Geste" is really a basic classic of adventure film but also one of William A. Wellman's highest achievements. In the film, Wellman draws grand yet personal -- both individual and social -- lines of war and misery in a reduced fashion. After WWII he continued such depiction in "Story of G.I. Joe" which immersed deeper into the inhumane world of war. Although "Beau Geste" is very clear in means of narrative, it also features profoundly intense emotional depth. It has a severe tragic undertone but, at the same, it's filled with romantic and even comic moments. There is one gentle scene between two brothers, who rest for a while under attack in the zone between life and death, which particularly gave me the impression of this being an utterly moving film. I must confess that I wasn't expecting much of "Beau Geste" on the account of unfair factors that normally don't affect me when it comes to my viewing habits. Therefore, I apologize and recommend this film even to those who aren't interested. All in all, "Beau Geste" grows out to be a beautiful tale of brotherly love, enhancing the importance of fraternity. It is truly a film to remember.

One way that I personally know this is a really good film is because I expected not to like and probably turn it off after the first 15 minutes. Instead I was glued to the screen! I thought I wouldn't like the film because I expected it to be along the lines of "Gunga Din". But in the early scenes of the film you realize it's really a mystery about a stolen sapphire (great early scene in the secret crypt). Not just another film of men trudging through the desert fighting Arabs (although there is that, too, although not until well into the second half of the film, and then only to advance the plot surrounding the mystery).But even before you realize the mystery surrounding the gem, there's the opening mystery of why the French Foreign Legion fort is deserted, except for all its dead soldiers. Spooky! And answered so well at the close of the film.The early scenes when the main characters are children are delightful, and it's particularly interesting to see Donald O'Connor as one of the boys -- Beau. Much to my surprise, it was his 9th film! As the kids mature they turn into Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston, and then the family gem is stolen and one of the boys appears to be the thief...so off the 3 boys go to the French Foreign Legion to hide and attempt to figure out which one of them has the jewel.Once in the Foreign Legion they meet up with all sorts, including a very odd American cowboy -- Broderick Crawford! Brian Donlevy, as the sergeant doesn't seem quite so bad at the beginning, but becomes increasingly sadistic as the film went on (and received an Academy Award nomination for his performance).The closing scenes of the movie, beginning with the attack by the Arabs, are quite remarkable -- among the best I've seen in any movie. The attack scenes in the desert are stunning...not always easy to say for black and white. The scene where Gary Cooper dies and is cremated...remarkable. And the way the film comes to a conclusion is quite unique.However, beyond the action of the film, this movie has real depth. It is as much a psychological drama as it is an action flick. You just have to focus on the drama of what must have been an almost untenable life.A wonderful film from that remarkable year 1939.