After playing major roles in the Mel Brooks comedies Young Frankenstein and Silent Movie and co-starring in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Smarter Brother, Marty Feldman followed in the footsteps of former collaborators Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder to write and direct his own movie spoof. A parody of the 1939 adventure classic Beau Geste and Foreign Legion adventure movies in general, The Last Remake of Beau Geste stars Feldman as the earnest but awkward Digby Geste, identical twin brother of the handsome and heroic Beau Geste (Michael York).
The plot that sends them to the Morocco desert to join the French Foreign Legion involves their father's sexy, scheming new wife (Ann-Margret), the theft of the priceless family diamond, and a prison escape. While York plays the golden boy role with a larger-than-life exuberance, Feldman underplays the devoted brother all-too-aware that his identical twin Beau is "more identical" than he is, but the brotherly affection between them comes off as warm and genuine.
While the film marks Feldman's feature debut behind the camera, he had spent years writing sketch comedy and sitcoms for British TV, and his approach is closer to the absurdity and cartoonish sight gags of Monty Python (he had collaborated with members of the troupe on various shows) than the genre spoofing of Mel Brooks.
Some of the film's cleverest bits are skits dropped into the storyline like a brief diversion, notably a sequence where Digby enters the "Mirage Area" and steps into the original 1939 film, where he converses with Gary Cooper. While it's spottier than the films Feldman made with Mel Brooks, the jokes and visual gags are non-stop and Feldman keeps things lively by switching up styles as the scene suggests, whether it's a silent slapstick comedy escape, a Busby Berkeley dance number, or a tribute to Rudolph Valentino desert sheik movies.
The great supporting cast includes Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones, Henry Gibson, Terry-Thomas, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, Hugh Griffith, and Sinead Cusack as the Gestes' younger sister.
It's rated PG and features sexually suggestive gags, a brief drug reference, and cartoonish depictions of desert Arabs, but no foul language or nudity. Features two new audio commentary tracks, one featuring film historian Alan Spencer (who was a friend of Marty Feldman and shares personal anecdotes) and one featuring entertainment journalist and author Bryan Reesman, a new audio-only interview with costar Michael York reminiscing about the film, and the "Trailers From Hell" presentation by Alan Spencer. It is also available on a bare-bones DVD-R from Universal. A strong option purchase.