Beau Ideal
About Beau Ideal
After six days without rations, legionnaires left in a desert grain pit are dying. Two remain, known to each other as Smith and Brown. One mutters 'stout fellow' and is recognized as John Geste by Otis Madison, his American companion and childhood friend. In England, Otis had come back to propose to Isobel Brandon and learned that John had joined the French Foreign Legion, been court-martialed, and been sent to a penal battalion. Otis goes after him. John later releases Isobel from the betrothal.
Cast & crew
More about Beau Ideal
Herbert Brenon directed. Paul Schofield adapted P. C. Wren's 1927 novel, the third book about these characters. Brenon had directed the 1926 silent Beau Geste, and Ralph Forbes repeats John Geste from that film. J. Roy Hunt photographed it. Max Steiner wrote the music. The New York opening was the week of 16 January 1931. AFI gives the release date as 25 January 1931. Lester Vail plays Otis Madison after Douglas Fairbanks Jr. left the part. It was Vail's film debut.
Themes
Background
A 1931 RKO pre-Code adventure, third in Wren's novel series and a follow-up to the 1926 Beau Geste.
Making
Brenon returned to Wren's legion stories five years after Beau Geste, with Forbes in the same role and Vail in the part Fairbanks Jr. had dropped.
Look
J. Roy Hunt photographed the grain pit, the desert, and the English flashbacks.
Music
Max Steiner wrote the score.
Preservation
The film survives on the Internet Archive and Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- Loretta Young plays Isobel Brandon. Irene Rich plays Lady Brandon.
- Don Alvarado, Bernard Siegel, Hale Hamilton, and John St. Polis are in the cast.
- The two survivors in the pit have been calling each other Smith and Brown.
- AFI's synopsis has Otis recognize John from the words 'stout fellow.'
Scenes
- In the grain pit, Otis recognizes John from the words 'stout fellow.'
- John releases Isobel from their betrothal.
Influenced by
- P. C. Wren's novel Beau Ideal (1927)
- Beau Geste (1926)
Also available
- Internet Archive (BeauIdeal)
- Wikimedia Commons (Beau Ideal (1931).webm)
Quotes
Stout fellow.
