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 #59 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 2 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 | french army | french soldier | fear of death | 

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Taglines:

BOMBSHELL! the roll of the drums... the click of the rifle-bolts... the last cigarette... and then... the shattering impact of this story... perhaps the most explosive motion picture in 25 years!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Latin

Release Date:

November 1957 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

La patrulla infernal

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$935,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kirk Douglas was irritated by Timothy Carey's erratic acting, and made his irritation known, loudly. However, Stanley Kubrick seemed to have enjoyed getting Douglas riled up. During the court-martial scene, when Douglas was criticizing Carey's delivery, Kubrick whispered to Carey, "Make this a good one, because Kirk doesn't like it."

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Goofs

During the first tracking with Dax in the trenches, the shadow of a boom mike is visible.

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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 Les Cousins (1959)

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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

Stands the Test of Time

An arrogant French general (a superb George Macready) orders his men on a suicide mission and then has the gall to try to court marshal and execute three of them for cowardice in the face of the enemy. A former lawyer turned colonel (Kirk Douglas in his prime) is the voice of reason against gross injustice. This excellently staged and wonderfully acted production is as much an acting showcase for Douglas as it is a directorial masterstroke by a young Stanley Kubrick who adapted this to the screen from a novel based on actual accounts.

Kubrick displays a great control of sound effects and camera movement in the brief but effective battle scenes that expertly depict the controlled chaos that was trench warfare during WWI. Things get juicier during the ensuing courtroom battle where the deafening disparity between the elite who propagate and profit from war and the common citizens who suffer and die in war is shown with great lucidity.

Unlike later Kubrick epics, this runs at a crisp 90 minutes, though suffers briefly from a slow and awkwardly staged opening ten minutes before Douglas comes on screen. Ultimately, this holds up very well to modern scrutiny thanks to the flawlessness of Kurbick's craft, the amazing ensemble acting, and the surprising depth of its philosophical and psychological pondering. "Paths of Glory" is more anti-arrogance than anti-war, and is unapologetically sentimental and pro-soldier. As such, much can still be gleaned from its message.