The Last Remake of Beau Geste

The conception of this movie was actually a mistake. Writer and Director Marty Feldman had based the concept on an almost ludicrous misapprehension. Feldman had wanted to send up foreign legion movies like Beau Geste (1939). A screening of Beau Geste (1939) was organized for Feldman, who said: "I'd only sat looking at the picture for about ten minutes when it dawned on me that I hadn't meant 'Beau Geste' at all. The picture I'd been thinking of all along was 'Four Feathers'". "The Four Feathers", like "Beau Geste" had been remade numerous times. There had existed several versions of "The Four Feathers": Four Feathers (1915), The Four Feathers (1921), The Four Feathers (1929), The Four Feathers (1939), and "The Four Feathers" filmed under the title of Storm Over the Nile (1955). Also, later versions have included The Four Feathers (1978) and The Four Feathers (2002). Feldman felt that "The Last Remake of Four Feathers" didn't sound quite right, so proceeded with his mistake to make "The Last Remake of Beau Geste" anyway.

Michael York said that Marty Feldman's version of this movie was much funnier than the studio cut.

Writer and Director Marty Feldman was disappointed with the theatrical cut because Universal Pictures edited their own version, which became the release print.

The family motto of the identical twin brothers Geste was "Geste et Geste. Nil Separatum Est" which is meant to translate as "Geste and Geste. Never shall we be parted." The associated Geste coat of arms seen in the movie were two identical cheeks of a horse's butt.

Ann-Margret (Flavia Geste) once said of working with Writer and Director Marty Feldman (Dagobert "Digby" Geste): "I expected him to be loud, but he was very calm. He maintained a sense of humor throughout, during the rains and everything, while those around him were falling apart. You'd never know it was his first film as a director."