BEAU GESTE (1926) On Blu-ray From Artcraft Pictures

 

The most famous version of BEAU GESTE is the 1939 film starring Gary Cooper and directed by William Wellman. What most people don't know is that movie is a very close remake of a 1926 silent feature. I didn't really know anything about the original BEAU GESTE until I purchased this Blu-ray from Artcraft Pictures, a group that is in the process of restoring several silent films. The 1926 BEAU GESTE is an excellent film in its own right, and I will even venture to say that Ronald Colman, the star of the '26 version, is a better Beau Geste than Gary Cooper. 

The 1926 BEAU GESTE was restored under the supervision of Robert A. Harris and James Mockoski, and the result is an early screen epic that hopefully will garner more attention. The novel that the film was based on was a current bestseller when the original movie was being made, and while its story of three brothers going away and joining the French Foreign Legion in order to cover up a family scandal may come off as too sentimental in this day and age, the '26 version is an outstanding big-budget adventure. 

The man behind the 1926 BEAU GESTE was director Herbert Brenon, who had read its source novel and convinced Paramount Pictures to film it. The studio went to great expense and trouble to adapt the story, with an entire camp built in southeastern California near the border of Mexico in order to facilitate shooting the desert sequences. Herbert Brenon's direction wasn't as energetic as William Wellman's--the '26 version is over two hours long--but the final attack on a Legion fort by Arab tribesmen is still a knockout, especially when one realizes that what is going on in front of the camera was staged for real, without any tricks or special effects. 

As I've already stated, Ronald Colman is a fine, stately Beau Geste. (Even though this is a silent feature, I couldn't help but hear Colman's voice in my head saying his character's lines.) Colman's brothers are played by Ralph Forbes and Neil Hamilton. Noah Beery gets a juicy part with the role of the brutal sergeant commanding the fort, and like Brian Donlevy did in the '39 version, he makes the most of it. William Powell plays a weaselly, untrustworthy legionnaire named Boldini, a role very far removed from the actor's smooth leading men he would portray in the 1930s. The '26 BEAU GESTE shows how versatile an actor William Powell was. 

Artcraft Pictures has given the original BEAU GESTE a first-class Blu-ray presentation, with a special slipcover and a booklet that contains stills and a production history written by Frank Thompson. Thompson also provides a well-paced informative audio commentary that gives the listener all the details on the film that one could want. 

The music score attached to this restoration of the '26 BEAU GESTE was compiled by Rodney Sauer from original 1926 compositions, and it was performed by the Mount Alto Orchestra. The score, presented in 5.1 surround, fits the movie perfectly, and an extra on the disc has Sauer explain exactly why he chose certain sections of music. Sauer's talk will be fascinating for those who have an interest in movie music soundtracks. 

Other extras include a radio adaptation of BEAU GESTE by Orson Welles, a photo gallery (which shows that the cast and crew managed to have fun despite the remote location) and a short restoration video that provides the basics on how this version of the film was put together. This disc is Region Free. 

After watching this Blu-ray, I pulled out my DVD of the 1939 BEAU GESTE. The '39 version is almost a scene-by-scene remake of the '26 version, and while the '39 version has now become the one that most people know about, credit has to be given where credit is due. The 1926 BEAU GESTE was a major accomplishment, and so was Artcraft Pictures' restoration of it. This Blu-ray has plenty of material for film geeks to dive into, and I'll be looking forward to what Artcraft Pictures has in store for the future.