Ray Charles Video:

Editorial Review:
Gary Cooper plays the oldest of three brothers who join the French Foreign Legion to cover a mysterious theft, and are soon caught up in high adventures. The opening scene in a fort full of corpses sticks in the memory forever, and Brian Donlevy's role as a sadistic sergeant makes a striking impression as well. Director William Wellman (Wings), a veteran pilot of World War I, drew--as he often did--upon the authenticity of his own experiences in battle to give this film a measure of reality. --Tom Keogh

Beau Geste Reviews:
"Secreting the Saphire"
2008-10-05 - This is an action-filled movie that gains momentum when the three brothers leave their family and join the French Foreign Legion together in a wave of disgust over their father's weaknesses. The brotherly affection and loyalty is the main theme of the story, and it is touching and heartrending without being overly sentimental. Cooper, Milland, Hayward and Donleavy are brilliant. It was, is, and always will be a great film about true nobility of the heart as opposed to nobility of the blood.

Classic adventure movie
2008-01-07 - A great adventure movie for film buffs who love classic old films. It is about the French foreign legion and the exploits of 3 adventurous young men. One is accused of stealing and to avoid prosecution they all leave home and join up. Lots of action. It is nice to see movies without bad words, sex scenes, and movies enhanced by computers. There is just great character development, and you end up caring for all three, and eventually find out why there was no theft in the first place.

Legion Classic
2008-01-04 - This 1939 classic; a remake of the 1926 film of the same name and starring (Ronald Coleman) and which runs about 11 minutes longer is superior by far! Abundant adventure and action..the ultimate Legion Classic. It captures the adventure genre as well as anything ever put to celluloid! It has lost none of its allure since I first saw it as a child thirty odd years ago! The three lead roles;Gary Cooper(Beau Geste), Ray Milland( John), and Robert Preston (Digby) are a casting coup which makes this work. Based on the 1924 novel written by P.C.Wren and adapted to the screen, is far and away the best version! Why a lack-lustre 1966 version with Telly Savalas and Dean Stockwell ever made it into print is beyond me! This authentic and detailed description of the Foreign Legion before 1914 has led some to believe that Wren may even have served with that particular regiment..yet to be proven though. Honor,is the prevailing theme throughout this film;the driving force which motivates the theft of the 'Blue Water'diamond by Beau Geste, influenced also with the elements of courage and heroism which round it out. Accompanied by a terrific music score by Alfred Newman(who was no slouch with 45 Academy Award nominations to his credit!)the atmosphere of the film is robust and rousing...I can even feel the desert sand in my shoes!! Stealing the, 'Blue Water'diamond, heading off to join the Foreign Legion in the Sahara Desert,Fort Zinderneuf, trained by sadistic sergeant'Markoff',effectively played with sinister conviction by (Brian Donlevy), battles with Arabs, brotherly comraderie, chemistry, music, and a touch of mystery to boot!!...all these elements provide us with a film that begs to be veiwed by a new generation, and veiwed in the medium that its long over-due dvd release will provide!! Let that bugle blow!!!

Terrific cast.
2007-05-07 - Intriguing from the start, this adventure begins at the end of the story, with a foreign legion troop arriving to reinforce a fort in the desert, to find it defended by dead men. How it got that way unfolds in a flashback story of the three adopted Geste Brothers played by
Gary Cooper (Sgt. York), Ray Milland (Panic In Year Zero), and Robert Preston (The Music Man, in a very early role here) who join the French Foreign Legion after a valuable jewel is stolen from their adoptive family.

The terrific supporting cast includes Susan Hayward as Ray Milland's girlfriend; Donald O'Connor (Singin' In The Rain) as young Beau Geste, one of his earliest roles (he also played Huckleberry Finn); Brian Donlevy (The Quatermass Xperiment) as a sadistically strict sergeant; J. Carrol Naish, Broderick Crawford (All The King's Men), and Albert Dekker (Dr. Cyclops) as legionaires.

sand in my shoes ...
2007-04-18 - there seemed to be a fascination with placing trios of men in this type of setting back in the 1930s; this is a bit better than "lives of a bengal lancer" (my review forthcoming) but its not in the league with the best of the ilk "gunga din". still, it is a grand adventure with gary cooper, ray milland, and robert preston involved in a tale of jewel thievery and high desert adventure with the foreign legion. still, even with those 3 wonderful hams, it is brian donlevy who steals the show in one of those performances that so make 1930s movies worth watching. fun.