ABSTRACT
The implication is that the lower down the scale you are, the rarer the occurrence of greatness. This encourages the practice of paternalism. The paternalism of the army took the form of a headmaster-pupil relationship between senior and junior officers; and the feeling of responsibility towards the lesser orders which characterized the attitude of officers to other ranks. In both cases it accurately reflects the public school background of the officers. The officers are generally the product of the public school system. The ultimate exposition of the public schoolboy at war is the early sound film, Tell England, adapted from Ernest Raymond's book by Anthony Asquith and A. P. Herbert and directed by Asquith and Geoffrey Barkas. Herbert Brenon took up the story of the Gestes in Beau Ideal. Surplus footage from Beau Geste had already been utilized to produce Beau Sabreur, with Gary Cooper, but that dealt with the adventures of a Foreign Legion officer who was actually French.
