Film

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

Name: The Last Remake of Beau Geste
Genre: Adventure, Action, Comedy
Released: 1977
Cast: Ann-Margret, Marty Feldman, Michael York, Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones

Military action

A 1977 comedy remake of the classic adventure tale, where three brothers join the Foreign Legion and face off against a tyrannical sergeant, desert combat, and family secrets. It's playful and absurd, stuffed with an improbable cast doing slapstick in military costumes. Best suited to those who enjoy their action films thoroughly deflated by humour and don't mind when the joke lands unevenly.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy spoofs that take a sweeping old desert-adventure yarn and gleefully wreck its solemn conventions with pratfalls, wordplay and a cheerful disregard for dignity.

Skip it if you hoped for the earnest heroics of the 1939 original, since this mocks them constantly, and its gags land unevenly, often tipping into silliness that wears thin.

What it asks of you: A brisk eighty-five minutes, mostly played for broad physical comedy, so attention can wander between set pieces but nothing demands you stay with a plot.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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The Pink Panther1963

Peter Sellers improvising his way through physical comedy as a bumbling detective in an ornate heist film. The same blend of slapstick and sophisticated production design, with a star willing to be utterly ridiculous.

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The Great Race1965

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Last Remake of Beau Geste

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang1968

Both films spend spectacular budgets on adventure plots that barely support them, betting everything on a cast willing to commit utterly to material that refuses to be dignified.

A family adventure that costs what a small country's army would cost, stuffed with production numbers, slapstick, and genuine stakes wrapped in whimsy. It takes itself completely seriously while being completely ridiculous—that's the tone remake shares, just with more cynicism and less sentiment.

But It's long, it's baroque, and the musical numbers will not be to everyone's taste. The whimsy can curdle into cloying if you're not in the mood for earnest fun.

Support Your Local Sheriff!1969

James Garner in a Western that gently spoofs its own genre while remaining genuinely entertaining as a story. Smart, warm comedy that works as adventure and as satire without ever being smug about either.

But The Western-comedy hybrid can feel slight and sitcom-like. It's gentler than you might want if you're craving bite.

The Adventures of Robin Hood1938

Errol Flynn swashbuckling through Technicolor with genuine grace and wit, aided by a script that knows adventure films are fundamentally absurd. Pure style and charm in service of a joke that's never spoken aloud.

But It's earnest about its own ridiculousness in a way that can read as dated. The straight adventure elements may feel slow if you're expecting constant laughs.

Sinbad the Sailor1947

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in a fantasy adventure where production design and practical effects matter more than plot or character. Gorgeous, preposterous, and played with a wink that makes the excess part of the fun.

But The story barely exists; it's an excuse for set pieces. Pacing meanders badly, and modern audiences may find it indulgent rather than entertaining.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail1975

Genre deconstruction as comedy philosophy: the Pythons taking medieval adventure, quest narratives, and hero mythology and finding the logical absurdity baked into all of them. Quotable, inventive, and endlessly clever.

But Sketch-like and episodic, with hit-and-miss moments. Some sequences drag, and the humour is very specifically Python—if their sensibility doesn't grab you, nothing will.

Viva Zapata!1952

Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn in a revolutionary adventure that's unexpectedly thoughtful about power and betrayal. Elia Kazan directing with real visual flair and a cast committed to making the pulp matter.

But It's a serious film wearing adventure clothes, which means the tone can feel uncertain. Some may find it heavy-handed in its politics.

The Great Adventure1975

A genuinely obscure adventure comedy with genuine charm and practical stunts. If you've exhausted the obvious options and want something that captures similar energy without repeating the hits.

But It's forgotten for a reason: the script is thin, the pacing slack. You have to meet it more than halfway.

The Stalking Moon1968

Beau Geste plays Foreign Legion adventure for laughs; this plays Western adventure as existential dread. Same genre framework, opposite emotional poles, both asking what adventure actually costs.

Gregory Peck in a Western that deconstructs its own mythology—a tired cavalry officer and a widow facing down the wilderness. It's an adventure film that understands adventure is often futile and terrible, playing that insight for quiet tension rather than jokes.

But It's slow, meditative, and refuses easy heroism. If you're expecting action and excitement, this will feel like watching paint dry in the desert.

Burden of Dreams1982

Both films are ultimately about the gap between what we imagine adventure to be and what actually happens when you throw enormous resources at making it real. One finds comedy there; Herzog finds tragedy and compulsion.

Werner Herzog documenting his attempt to film Fitzcarraldo in the Amazon—a fractured, mad documentary about the collision between creative ambition and actual physical reality. It's a film about a man making an impossible film, and it becomes infinitely more interesting than the film itself.

But It's a documentary, not narrative fiction, and it's about filmmaking obsession rather than adventure. Bleak, unresolved, and occasionally opaque about what you're actually watching.