Beau Geste (1966)

One of the old movies I recently caught up with was the 1966 version of Beau Geste.  If ever a remake were to invoke the question 'why?' it is this one.  So much has been altered both from the source novel and the previous film versions, you are left asking yourself why the makers bothered paying for the rights to the PC Wren novel and didn't just come up with their own, original, Foreign Legion film.  The answer being that 'Beau Geste' is a recognisable 'brand' familiar to audiences, (at least, in the sixties it still was), who would know what they were getting.  Except that this version is barely recognisable as 'Beau Geste', retaining only the basic story outline, the setting and a couple of set pieces, most notably the opening scene of the fort apparently defended by dead men, from which it flashes back to tell the rest of the story.  Apart from that, every thing is different: character names are changed for no good reason, (the main character's surname isn't even 'Geste' anymore, 'Beau Geste' being a nickname in its entirety), others are omitted (there are now only two not-Geste Brothers and their American legionnaire friends are absent), nationalities are changed (the brothers are now American rather than British) and the whole backstory whereby Beau takes the blame for the apparent theft of the 'Blue Water' diamond, is cut.  Indeed, there are no scenes outside of the Foreign Legion sequences - with Beau now having joined the Legion after taking the blame for his business partner's fraudulent activities, (in order to spare said partner's wife's shame - Beau being secretly in love with her).  This motivation feels entirely inadequate to explain Beau's actions in joining the Legion - in the book and previous film versions, his act of sacrifice isn't self-serving, instead being about preserving his aunt's honour, not to mention the family honour, making him a noble figure.

But hey, the makers apparently decided that the original, UK set, back story, simply went on for too long and instead cut it out, substituting their own entirely perfunctory back story.  All of which simply emphasises the producers' of this version of the story failure to grasp what it was actually about.  Bereft of the context created by the original backstory all we have left is a pretty standard and unremarkable story of the Legion, which simply cycles through all of the cliches of the genre, (many of which were established, ironically, by the PC Wren novel and its earlier adaptations), from the sadistic training methods to the brutality of the remote desert outposts they man.  Indeed, there is much emphasis placed upon the character of the sergeant, (who, like everyone else, has had his name changed and has been provided with his own backstory to 'explain' his actions - being motivated by greed, as per earlier versions, is an option that disappears with the elimination of the original backstory, which raised the possibility of Beau still being in possession of the diamond).  He now becomes the standard bearer of 'honour' - trying to force the men under his command to conform to his warped notions of preserving the 'honour' and 'glory' of the Legion.  Which isn't to say that this couldn't have formed the basis of a reasonably enjoyable action film.  Unfortunately, the actual film is indifferently directed with no sense of period, (apparently it is set in 1906, but it might as well have been 1966) and generic-feeling action sequences that might have come out of a western, with American Indians instead of Arabs and the US Cavalry instead of the Foreign Legion.  It also features a decidedly second tier cast, with Dean Stockwell's Beau never suggesting the sort of quiet nobility and sense of self sacrifice which is supposed to underpin the character.  Even Telly Savalas as the sergeant fails to make much of the role, giving a subdued performance where flamboyance was required.  The ending of the film even denies the title character his final act of self-sacrifice, instead allowing Beau to survive, albeit minus an arm.  Which pretty much sums up how much of a travesty this version actually is.