Paths of Glory (1957)

After refusing to attack an enemy position, a general accuses the soldiers of cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Calder Willingham (screenplay)

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou

Top Rated Movies #61 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Col. Dax
Ralph Meeker	...	Cpl. Philippe Paris
Adolphe Menjou	...	Gen. George Broulard
George Macready	...	Gen. Paul Mireau
Wayne Morris	...	Lt. Roget
Richard Anderson	...	Maj. Saint-Auban
Joe Turkel	...	Pvt. Pierre Arnaud (as Joseph Turkel)
Christiane Kubrick	...	German Singer (as Susanne Christian)
Jerry Hausner	...	Proprietor of Cafe
Peter Capell	...	Narrator of Opening Sequence / Chief Judge of Court-Martial
Emile Meyer	...	Father Dupree
Bert Freed	...	Sgt. Boulanger
Kem Dibbs	...	Pvt. Lejeune
Timothy Carey	...	Pvt. Maurice Ferol
Fred Bell	...	Shell-Shocked Soldier

Storyline

The futility and irony of the war in the trenches in WWI is shown as a unit commander in the French army must deal with the mutiny of his men and a glory-seeking general after part of his force falls back under fire in an impossible attack.

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Plot Keywords:

trench warfare | military officer | rifle | world war one | french soldier | 

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Taglines:

Never has the screen thrust so deeply into the guts of war!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Winston Churchill said that the film was a highly accurate depiction of trench warfare and the sometimes misguided workings of the military mind.

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Goofs

Just before the German girl sings, the soldiers begin to cheer and whistle enthusiastically. In Europe, unlike in the US, whistling is a way of showing displeasure, like booing. The whistling here might also be interpreted as a sign of such displeasure with the Germans, in general, the girl being a symbol of the enemy..

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator of opening sequence: War began between Germany and France on August 3rd 1914. Five weeks later the German army had smashed its way to within eighteen miles of Paris. There the battered French miraculously rallied their forces at the Marne River and in a series of unexpected counterattacks drove the Germans back. The front was stabilized then shortly afterwards developed into a continuous line of heavily fortified trenches zigzagging their way five hundred miles from the English Channel to the Swiss ...

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Connections

Referenced in Century of Cinema: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(1792) (uncredited)
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
In the score during the opening credits

User Reviews

paths of glory

Paths of glory is great anti war film by kubrick and he was able to put film message in people hearts and it also shows us how war is horrible thing and how it just brings pain and suffering to people,it also showed very realisticly how generals and higher ranking officers only care for their reputetions and how they would left common soldiers to die or killed just to achive their selfish ambitions,kirk was great in a film and he was in acting part highlight of film,and he also give some hard but impactful speeches,paths of glory is a proof that kubrick even in his early days was able to make a great film and how he can take any genre and make a film gem out of it

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Latin

Release Date:

25 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paths of Glory

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$935,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,252

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1