Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1927 - Feb 1928)

And Now — "Beau Sabreur" 25 earlier film. Major de Bcaujolais, the leader of the relief part in "Beau Geste" that witnessed the weird occurrences at the isolated fortress of Zinderneuf, is the hero of "Beau Sabreur." The name, "Beau Sabreur," meaning "beautiful saber," is given him in token of his amazing swordsmanship. There ,will probably be as many different pronunciations for this French name as there were for "apocalypse" in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." So it might be mentioned that the accent is on the last syllable, and that this syllable sounds something like "br-r-r-r." The matter of pronunciation is purely incidental, anyway. The movie fan will be much more interested iin whether the film is a rousing good romantic thriller. And though some may find "Beau Sabreur" unadulterated hoktim compared with "Beau Gcste," there is no doubt that it contains excitement aplenty. Also, it suggests something of the fidelity of the French Foreign Legion to France. The scene of the taking of Zaguig exemplifies this. The entire garrison is supposed to be wiped out in this portion of the .narrative. The legionnaires fight valiantly and to the last man against the onslaught of the nomads of the Sahara. At the close of the battle, they are naught but a pile of inert bodies, with even the wounded scarcely moving. As some of the principals in the combat expire, they murmur the words of their fealty, "Pour France" — "For France." These two syllables are the main theme of the production. Major de Bcaujolais, played by Gary Cooper, particularly dedicates himself to the fulfillment of this idealistic sentiment. He takes a vow never to look upon a woman, for fear that she may deflect him from his duty. He holds to the vow until he meets the American girl, Mary Vanhrugh, played by Evelyn Brent. Their first encounter is just before the siege of Zaguig; and during the conflict with the Arabs, he is under the necessity of rescuing her, as she is the niece of the commander. He himself is on a mission for the secret service that he cannot disclose. He has to relinquish his place in the battle in_ order to carry out this obligation, and in Evelyn Brent, on location for the picture near Guadalupe, California, gets a pail of hot water straight from the boiler. Hank and Buddy, the comedy pair of "Beau Geste," appear again in the new film, being played this time by Roscoe Karns and Noah Beery. the mind of the girl this casts suspicion upon his courage. Her distrust is the cause of the various differences that arise between them, until he proves his bravery in a subsequent episode showing the defense of the oasis. This battle at the oasis provides a spectacular finish for "Beau Sabreur." It was photographed on the same location that Cecil B. DeMille used for the biblical prologue to "The Ten Commandments" several years ago — a huge stretch of sand by the seaside at a place called Guadalupe, about two hundred miles north of Hollywood. Here a thousand or more men were assembled in a camp that was as pleasant, up-to-date, and comfortable as that for ''Beau Geste," in torrid Arizona, was hot and disagreeable. The makers of the picture did, however, have to contend with overhanging fogs, waiting sometimes days for the proper amount of sunlight " 'Beau Sabreur' was a much more difficult job in many ways than 'Beau Geste,' " Milton Hoffman, the supervisor of the production told me. "We ran into many more technical obstacles than the 'Beau Geste' compan}'' did. It would have been impossible, though, to go to the Arizona desert at the time we filmed the picture, because of the intense heat. "Under proper light, the sand on the edge of the ocean at Guadalupe doubled Continued on page 98