Three Foreign Legionnaires (1939)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Three foreign legionaries |
| Original title | Beau gesture |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | William A. Wellman |
| script | Robert Carson |
| production | William A. Wellman |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera |
Theodor Sparkuhl Archie Stout |
| cut | Thomas Scott |
| occupation | |
| |
Three Foreign Legionaries (original title: Beau Geste ) is an American adventure film directed by William A. Wellman from 1939. The screenplay is based on the novel Three Brothers ( Beau Geste ) by Percival Christopher Wren . The film is a remake of the silent film version from 1926 and resulted in two further films (1966 and 1977). The premiere in Germany took place in October 1952.
action
The Geste brothers Beau, John and Digby have lived in Lord Brandon's house since childhood. The adopted daughter Isobel Rivers also belongs to the house. One evening, the family gem, a sapphire called "Blue Water", is stolen. All those present affirm their innocence, with each of the brothers secretly blaming the others. Since suspicion finally falls on the Gesture brothers, they leave England and join the French Foreign Legion . They are being drilled by the sadistic Sergeant Markoff. Markoff learns of the robbery of the gem and believes that Beau is the one who hid the stone.
A unit that includes Beau and John is ordered to Fort Zinderneuf in a remote corner of the Sahara . When the commanding officer dies, Markoff takes command. His brutality leads to dissatisfaction and a mutiny is planned. But before the mutineers can withdraw command from Markoff, the fort is attacked by Arabs. The actual attack can be repulsed, but the fort is besieged by the hostile Arabs and the occupation is decimated man by man. Markoff orders the dead comrades to be supported on the upper edge of the palisade, so that the impression arises that the fort is still fully manned. The last attack can also be blocked, but Beau is shot down. Markoff and John are the only survivors.
When John is out of sight for a while, Markoff searches for Beau's body and discovers the sapphire. When John returns, Markoff wants to kill the only surviving witness to his own theft. But Beau, who is not yet dead, can distract Markoff so that John can kill him. Beau dies in his brother's arms. John hears the bugle announcing the arrival of a relief team that includes Digby. John takes a letter written by Beau and sneaks away.
With no news from the fort, Digby was sent with a unit to investigate the situation. Digby finds Beau's body and, remembering his brother's wishes, prepares a Viking-style burial for him. He lays Beau on a bed in a barrack, with Markoff at his feet as a symbol of a dog. Then he sets the barrack on fire and goes into the desert. There he finds John and makes his way back to England with him. On the way they encounter a group of Arabs. Digby blows the bugle, the Arabs believe they are being attacked by a Legion unit, shoot wildly and flee. Digby is hit and dies.
Back in England, John reads the letter Beau wrote to Lady Brandon. In it, Beau confesses to the theft of the sapphire. However, the sapphire is a worthless copy. Lady Brandon had sold the real stone years ago. Beau wanted to hide this fact from Lord Brandon by theft. Beau had watched the sale as a boy.
Background of the film
The desert scenes of this Paramount Pictures production were shot at the same location, in the Arizona desert , as the silent film version from 1926. In 1958, Paramount sold the television rights to the film to Universal Pictures .
On March 23, 1990, a series of stamps was published in the USA honoring classic films from 1939. On a 25 cent stamp, Gary Cooper was shown in his role as the Beau Geste. The other films honored were Gone With the Wind , Ringo, and The Wizard of Oz .
occupation
Gary Cooper, who played the title character, played in the 1928 sequel to the 1926 silent film version, Beau Sabreur (English: The White Harem ).
Robert Preston starred in a film for the fifth time, Susan Hayward for the sixth time, although she did not appear in the credits twice before and her scenes were cut out once. Broderick Crawford is also playing his sixth film role here.
Charles Barton was only a brief actor, he was better known as a director. In 1934 he won the Oscar in the no longer existing category Best Assistant Director . After bad experiences as assistant to Cecil B. DeMille , he moved to Columbia Pictures and took a seat there himself on the director's chair. He then became known as the director of various films by the comedian duo Abbott and Costello .
In a minor role as Corporal Golas is Nestor Paiva , known as the captain in Jack Arnold's horror classic, The Horror of the Amazon .
Film crew
William A. Wellman was the director of the first Oscar-winning film Wings (in which, by the way, Gary Cooper also played a supporting role). He also won the Best Director Oscar himself in 1938 for A Star Is Born ( A Star is Born ). Robert Carson was also honored with an Oscar for the script of this film.
Composer Alfred Newman won nine Academy Awards between 1939 and 1968. The costumes were from Edith Head , who won eight Academy Awards between 1950 and 1974.
Cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl was born in Germany ( Hanover ) in 1894 . After working for Ernst Lubitsch , he went to Great Britain and France and worked in Hollywood from 1933.
Reviews
"Romantic adventure film."
"In addition to the favor of the audience, Drei Foreign Legionnaires also won the approval of the critics, who particularly praised Brian Donlevy for his outstanding portrayal of the villainous Markoff."
Awards
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Brian Donlevy
- Nomination in the Best Equipment category for Hans Dreier and Robert Odell
Further film adaptations of the novel
In 1926 the first film adaptation of the novel by Percival Christopher Wren was made. Director was Herbert Brenon , the title role in this silent film version played Ronald Colman .
In 1966, Douglas Heyes directed another film adaptation . This time Guy Stockwell played the title role. Other roles include Leslie Nielsen , Doug McClure and Telly Savalas .
Marty Feldman shot an adventure comedy in 1977 with Michael York in the title role under the original title The Last Remake of Beau Geste . Feldman himself took on the role of the Digby gesture. Other actors were Peter Ustinov , Ann-Margret , Trevor Howard and James Earl Jones .
All three remakes (1939, 1966 and 1977) were released in Germany under the title Three Foreign Legionaries . The 1926 film was released in Austria under the title Blood Brotherhood .
literature
- PC Wren : Three brothers. Roman (original title: Beau Geste ). Series of novels of the world . German by Carl Ehrenstein and Thomas Schramek . Only authorized German edition. Th. Knaur Nachf., Berlin 1927, 319 pp.
Web links
- Three Foreign Legionnaires in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Critique of Variety
- Timeout film guide (English)
- New York Times (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Three Foreign Legionnaires. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ http://www.cinema.de/film_aktuell/filmdetail/film/?typ=inhalt&film_id=109280