‘Beau Geste’: Brotherly Devotion

Director William Wellman pits two legionnaires against each other in this gripping adventure tale.

A story of three brothers who join the French Foreign Legion: (L–R) Augustus Brandon (G.P. Huntley), Digby Geste (Robert Preston), Michael “Beau” Geste (Gary Cooper), Lady Patricia Brandon (Heather Thatcher), in “Beau Geste.” Paramount Pictures

NR | 1h 52min | Drama | 1939

The French Foreign Legion is an elite military corps that grew its unique global reputation by allowing foreigners from around the world to fight alongside Frenchmen. Director William A. Wellman’s film “Beau Geste” draws on Percival Christopher Wren’s adventure novel of the same name, about a band of spirited brothers who left England to join the Legion in Africa.