Brothers and 'Beau Geste'

The movies have meant a great deal to Horton Foote over the years.

And it's no surprise that the man who wrote "A Trip to Bountiful," "To Kill A Mockingbird," and "Tender Mercies" should have been inspired and moved by great performances in great films from the past - like Gary Cooper's in "Beau Geste" (1939).

In his memoir "Farewell," about his childhood in Texas, he describes how this classic Hollywood film affected him:

"Because of the differences in our ages, I had little in common with my brothers and tried to ignore them as much as possible. But one afternoon after seeing 'Beau Geste' with Gary Cooper, a story about the devotion of three brothers to each other, I left the theater and ran home through the cotton fields as fast as I could, filled with a newfound love for my brothers, and swearing to myself that I would always be as devoted to them as Gary Cooper was to his brothers in the film."

As the years went on, Mr. Foote and his brothers became very close. "It's strange, I've seen a lot of movies in [my] life," Foote says, "and some of them have moved me very much.... It was so vivid to me, how 'Beau Geste' made me [want] to embrace my brothers and to love them and cherish them."