Beau Geste (1926)

When a French Foreign Legion battalion arrives at a fort that was besieged by Arabs in the Sahara desert, they find all the legionnaires dead. One of the bodies contain a note that the deceased was responsible for the theft of a famous sapphire. Flashback fifteen years and to the events that lead to the beginning of the story. Based on the novel by P.C. Wren and directed by Herbert Brenon (PETER PAN). This is the first film version of the oft filmed tale (not only film but television, the stage and radio). I've never warmed to any version of BEAU GESTE that I've seen, not even the popular 1939 film version. It must have something to do with the Foreign Legion since with one exception I've never really cared for any movie about the Foreign Legion (the exception being ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN THE FOREIGN LEGION). That being said, this is a decent telling of the tale though Brenon's direction drags a bit. The film does star several actors who became very popular during the sound era: Ronald Colman, William Powell and Victor McLaglen. With Neil Hamilton, Ralph Forbes, Alice Joyce and Mary Brian.