The Last Remake of Beau Geste

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

Theatrical Poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by Marty Feldman
Produced by William S. Gilmore
George Shapiro
Howard West
Bernie Williams[1] (line prod.)
Written by Chris Allen
Sam Bobrick (story)
Marty Feldman (story)
Percival Christopher Wren (characters)
Based on Beau Geste
by P.C. Wren
Starring Marty Feldman
Michael York
Ann-Margret
Peter Ustinov
James Earl Jones
Trevor Howard
Henry Gibson
Roy Kinnear
Spike Milligan
Terry-Thomas
Music by John Morris
Cinematography Gerry Fisher
Edited by Jim Clark
Arthur Schmidt
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
 July 15, 1977
Running time
 85 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 American historical comedy film.[2] It starred and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the novel Beau Geste, a frequently-filmed story of brothers and their adventures in the French Foreign Legion. The humor is based heavily upon wordplay and absurdity. Feldman plays Digby Geste, the awkward and clumsy "identical twin" brother of Michael York's Beau, the dignified, aristocratic swashbuckler.

Plot

Spoofing the classic Beau Geste and a number of other desert motion pictures, the film's plotline revolves around the heroic Beau Geste and his brother Digby's misadventures in the French Foreign legion out in the Sahara, and the disappearance of the family sapphire, sought after by their money-hungry stepmother.

Cast and locations

The cast features Ann-Margret as the brothers' adoptive mother, Peter Ustinov as the brutal Sergeant Markov, and Sinéad Cusack as sister Isabel Geste, with Spike Milligan (Crumble the Butler), Burt Kwouk (Father Shapiro), James Earl Jones (Arab Chief), Avery Schreiber (Arab Chieftain / Used Camel Salesman), Terry-Thomas (Warden), Trevor Howard (Sir Hector), Henry Gibson (General Pecheur), Roy Kinnear (Corporal Boldini) and Ed McMahon (Arab Horseman) in supporting roles.

The film was shot on location in Madrid, and in Ireland at Ardmore Studios in Bray, and on location at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin and Adare Manor near Limerick.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, with a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[3]

Release

Marty Feldman was disappointed with the print distributed in theaters because the studio edited its own version. Attempts have been made to have the director's cut restored, but so far these have proved fruitless. According to Michael York, "Marty's version was much funnier." The film was released in America on DVD on January 11, 2010 as part of the Universal Vault Series of DVD-on-Demand titles, sold on Amazon.com, in the UK, the film was released through Second Sight Films on January 24, 2011.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Barnes, Mike (2015-01-12). "Bernard Williams, Producer on 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Ragtime,' Dies at 72". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
  2. ↑ "Movie Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  4. ↑ "The Last Remake of Beau Geste ::DVD Movies Coming Soon:: Second Sight Films". Secondsightfilms.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
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