BEAU GESTE (1926)

WORLD PREMIERE RESTORATION

This cinematic adaptation of P.C. Wren’s popular novel—shown here in a world premiere restoration—was one of Paramount’s most popular films of the 1920s. Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, and Ralph Forbes star as three brothers forced by scandal to flee England and join the French Foreign Legion. There’s high drama as they deal with a sadistic lieutenant (Noah Beery) and swashbuckling action in scenes of desert warfare. The film also features early appearances by William Powell and Victor McLaglen. Irish-born director Herbert Brenon was one of the first directors to achieve celebrity status, second only to D.W. Griffith. In a career spanning from 1911 to 1940, he directed more than 120 films, including the feature debut of Louise Brooks. His hits included Peter Pan (1924), starring Betty Bronson, and Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) with Lon Chaney. He also directed the sequel to Beau Geste, Beau Ideal (1931), which reunited him with Forbes.

Music compiled and presented by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

• • Rodney Sauer- piano, conductor
  • Nancy Sauer- Foley artist
  • David Short- cello
  • Emily Lewis- viola
  • Britt Swenson- violin
  • Brian Collins- clarinet
  • Dawn Kramer- 1st trumpet
  • Katherine (Kate) Polera- percussion
  • Derek McDonald- 2nd trumpet

d. Herbert Brenon, 140m, DCP

DCP courtesy of The Maltese Film Works. The Library of Congress, The Film Preserve LTD., The Maltese FilmWorks, and The San Francisco Silent Film Festival supervised the restoration of BEAU GESTE (1926), in grateful collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Paramount Pictures.