Paths of Glory (1957)
Quotes
General Broulard: It would be a pity to lose your promotion before you get it. A promotion you have so very carefully planned for.
Colonel Dax: Sir, would you like me to suggest what you can do with that promotion?
General Broulard: [angry] Colonel Dax! You will apologize at once or I shall have you placed under arrest!
Colonel Dax: [with building anger] I apologize... for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!
General Broulard: Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist... and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them. Wherein have I done wrong?
Colonel Dax: Because you don't know the answer to that question. I pity you.
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: I'm not afraid of dying tomorrow, only of getting killed.
soldier in bunk: That's as clear as mud.
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Well, which would you rather be done in by: a bayonet or a machine gun?
soldier in bunk: Oh, a machine gun, naturally.
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Naturally, that's just my point. They're both pieces of steel ripping into your guts, only the machine gun is quicker, cleaner, and less painful, isn't it?
soldier in bunk: Yeah, but what does that prove?
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: That proves that most of us are more afraid of getting hurt than of getting killed. Look at Bernard. He panics when it comes to gas. Gas doesn't bother me a bit. He's seen photos of gas cases. Doesn't mean anything to me. But I'll tell you something though, I'd hate like the devil to be without my tin hat. But on the other hand I don't mind not having a tin hat for my tail. Why is that?
soldier in bunk: You're darn tootin', because...
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Because I know a wound to the head would hurt much more than one to the tail. The tail is just meat but the head- ah, the head is all bone.
soldier in bunk: That's...
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Tell me this. Aside from the bayonet, what are you most afraid of?
soldier in bunk: High explosives.
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Exactly, and it's the same with me, because, because I know that it can chew you up worse than anything else. Look, just like I'm trying to tell you, if you're really afraid of dying you'd be living in a funk all the rest of your life because you know you've got to go someday, anyday. And besides...
soldier in bunk: Yes?
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: If it's death that you're really afraid of why should you care about what it is that kills you?
soldier in bunk: Oh, you're too smart for me, Professor. All I know is, nobody wants to die.
Colonel Dax: Gentlemen of the court, there are times when I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion. It's impossible for me to summarise the case for the defence since the Court never allowed me a reasonable opportunity to present that case.
General Mireau: Are you protesting the authenticity of this court?
Colonel Dax: [pause] Yes, sir. I protest against being prevented from introducing evidence which I considered vital to the defence; the prosecution presented no witnesses; there has never been a written indictment of charges made against the defendants, and lastly, I protest against the fact that no stenographic records of this trial have been kept.
[pause]
Colonel Dax: The attack yesterday morning was no stain on the honour of France, and certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation. But this Court Martial is such a stain, and such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime, to haunt each of you till the day you die. I can't believe that the noblest impulse for man - his compassion for another - can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you... show mercy to these men.
General Broulard: Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist... and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them. Wherein have I done wrong?
Colonel Dax: Because you don't know the answer to that question. I pity you.
Corporal Paris: [the condemned men are awaiting execution] See that cockroach?
[cutaway to the cockroach]
Corporal Paris: Tomorrow morning, we'll be dead, and it'll be alive. It'll have more contact with my wife and child than I will. I'll be nothing, and it'll be alive.
Private Ferol: [Ferol smashes the roach with his hand and adds with smiling sarcasm] Now you've got the edge on him!
General Broulard: Colonel Dax, are you trying to blackmail me?
Colonel Dax: It's an ugly word, but you are in a difficult situation.
General Mireau: If those little sweethearts won't face German bullets, they'll face French ones!
General Broulard: There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die.
[last lines]
[Col. Dax listens to his regiment humming in the tavern]
Sgt. Boulanger: Sir?
Colonel Dax: Yes, sir.
Sgt. Boulanger: We have orders to move back to the front immediately.
Colonel Dax: Well give the men a few minutes more, Sergeant.
Sgt. Boulanger: Yes, sir.
[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 frontier. By 1916, after two grisly years of trench warfare, the battle lines had changed very little. Successful attacks were measured in hundreds of yards, and paid for in lives, by hundreds of thousands.
General Mireau: I can't understand these armchair officers, fellas trying to fight a war from behind a desk, waving papers at the enemy, worrying about whether a mouse is gonna run up their pants leg.
Colonel Dax: I don't know, General. If I had the choice between mice and Mausers, I think I'd take the mice every time.
General Mireau: Hello there, soldier. Ready to kill more Germans?
Private Ferol: Yes, sir.
General Mireau: What's your name, soldier?
Private Ferol: Sir, Private Ferol, Company A.
General Mireau: Aha. You married, soldier?
Private Ferol: No, sir.
General Mireau: I'll bet your mother's proud of you.
Private Ferol: Yes, sir.
General Mireau: Carry on, Private, and good luck.
Private Ferol: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
Colonel Dax: Too much has happened. Someone's got to be hurt. The only question is who. General Mireau's assault on the Ant Hill failed. His order to fire on his own troops was refused. But his attempt to murder three innocent men to protect his own reputation will be prevented by the General Staff.
Saint-Auban: How far did you advance?
Private Ferol: To about the middle of no man's land, sir.
Saint-Auban: Then what did you do?
Private Ferol: Well... I saw that me and Meyer...
Saint-Auban: [rudely cutting him off] I didn't ask you what you saw. The court has no concern with your visual experiences.
Private Ferol: I went back, sir.
Saint-Auban: In other words, Private Ferol, you retreated.
Private Ferol: Yes, sir.
Saint-Auban: [to the judges in a cocky tone] I have no further questions.
General Mireau: Have you got a wife, soldier?
Shell-Shocked Soldier: My wife? My wife. Yes, I have a wife. I'm never going to see her again. I going to be killed...
General Mireau: Get a grip on yourself. You're acting like a coward.
Shell-Shocked Soldier: I am a coward.
General Mireau: Snap out of it soldier!
[strikes the Private]
General Mireau: Sergeant, I want you to arrange for the immediate transfer off this baby out of my regiment! I won't have other brave men contaminated by him!
Colonel Dax: How many casualties do you expect, sir?
General Mireau: Say 5 percent killed by our own barrage, 10 percent more getting through No Man's Land, and 20 percent more getting through the wire. Say another 25 percent in actually taking the Ant Hill and we're still left with a force more than adequate to hold it.
Colonel Dax: Let me get this straight, sir. You're offering me General Mireau's command?
General Broulard: Come, come, Colonel Dax. Don't overdo the surprise.You've been after the job from the start. We all know that, my boy.
Colonel Dax: I may be many things, sir, but I am not your boy.
General Broulard: Well, I certainly didn't mean to imply any biological relationship.
General Broulard: Colonel Dax, I'm going to have ten men from each company in your regiment tried under penalty of death for cowardice.
Colonel Dax: Penalty of death? - For cowardice!
General Broulard: They've skim milk in their veins instead of blood.
Colonel Dax: It's the reddest milk I've ever seen. My trenches are soaked with it!
Capt. Rousseau - Battery Commander: With all respect, sir, you have no right to order me to shoot down my own men, unless you are willing to take full and undivided responsibility for it.
General Mireau: Captain Rousseau, are you going to obey my order?
Capt. Rousseau - Battery Commander: I must have a written order before I can execute such a command, sir. Supposing you are killed? Then where will I be?
General Mireau: You'll be in front of a firing squad tomorrow morning - that's where you'll be! Hand over your command and report yourself under arrest to my headquarters!
General Mireau: Perhaps I was a bit too anxious to see proper justice meted out. I've spent my entire life in the army and I've always tried to be true to my principles. It's the only mistake I can ever be accused of.
General Mireau: Patriotism may be old-fashioned, but a patriot is an honest man.
Colonel Dax: Not everyone has always thought so.
General Broulard: Paul, I knew that I was right to come to you. *You* are the man to take the Ant Hill.
General Mireau: As for that star is concerned -- that has nothing to do with my decision! If anything, it would sway me the other way.
General Broulard: I realize that perfectly, Paul.
General Mireau: I beg your pardon, Sergeant. There is no such thing as shell shocked.
General Mireau: Who was this man?
Colonel Dax: Samuel Johnson, sir.
General Mireau: All right. Now, what did he have to say about patriotism?
Colonel Dax: He said it was the last refuge of a scoundrel, sir. I'm sorry. I meant nothing personal.
Corporal Paris: You ran like a rabbit after you killed Lejeune.
Lt. Roget: Killed Lejeune? What are you talking about? I don't think I like your tone. You're speaking to an officer. Remember that.
Corporal Paris: Oh, well, I must be mistaken, then, sir. An officer wouldn't do that. A man wouldn't do it. Only a thing would. A sneaky, booze-guzzling, yellow-bellied rat with a bottle for a brain and a streak of...
Lt. Roget: That's enough, Corporal.
Corporal Paris: Spit where a spine ought to be.
Capt. Nichols - Artillery Spotter: Order the 75's to commence firing on our own positions. Captain, do you fail to comprehend the meaning of my order?
General Mireau: No, sir, but I respectfully ask to...
Capt. Nichols - Artillery Spotter: Captain, do you fail to comprehend the meaning of my order?
General Mireau: No, sir.
General Mireau: Then, carry it out, Captain.
Capt. Nichols - Artillery Spotter: General, the battery commander reports those are our own positions. He says it must be a mistake.
General Mireau: Confirm the order, Captain.
Colonel Dax: They're not cowards. So, it some of them didn't leave the trenches, it must have been because it was impossible.
General Mireau: They were ordered to attack. It was their duty to obey that order. We can't leave it up to the men to decide whether an order is possible or not. If it was impossible, the only proof of that would be their dead bodies lying about in the trenches. They're scum, Colonel. The whole rotten regiment. A pack of sneaking, whining, tail-dragging curs.
General Mireau: Colonel Dax, when this mess is cleaned up, I'll break you! I'll find an excuse, and I'll break you to the ranks. I'll ruin you! It will be just what you deserve -showing such little loyalty to your commanding officer. That's all, Colonel.
General Broulard: We don't want to slaughter the French army. All we want to do is to set an example.
General Broulard: Colonel, troops are like children. Just as a child wants his father to be firm, troops crave discipline.
Colonel Dax: I see.
General Broulard: One way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then.
Colonel Dax: May I ask - do you sincerely believe the things you've said?
General Broulard: It's been a pleasure discussing this with you, Colonel, but I'm afraid that I'd better be getting back to my guests.
General Broulard: Colonel Dax, we think we're doing a good job running the war. You must be aware of the fact that the general staff is subject to all kinds of unfair pressures from newspapers and politicians. Maybe the attack against the Ant Hill was impossible. Perhaps it was an error of judgment on our part. On the other hand, if your men had been more daring, they might have taken it. Who knows? In any case, why should we have to bear any more criticism than we have to?
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: Back in my hometown, there was a certain little cafe with an amusing sign over the bar. It read, "Do not be afraid to ask for credit, for our way of refusing is very polite."
Corporal Paris: Is this supposed to be our last meal or something?
Pvt. Pierre Arnaud: It isn't supposed to be our last meal. It is our last meal.
General Broulard: There's the troops' morale, don't forget that.
Colonel Dax: The troops' morale?
General Broulard: Certainly. These executions will be a perfect tonic for the entire division.
General Mireau: So that's it. You're making me the goat. The only completely innocent man in this whole affair.
Proprietor of Cafe: It's true. The little lady has her limitations. As a matter of fact, she has absolutely no talent at all, except, that is, well, maybe a little - natural talent.
Father Dupree: What do I have to die for, Father? What do I have to die for? I didn't do anything wrong.
Father Dupree: We do not question the will of God, my son.
Corporal Paris: It just occurred to me. Funny thing. I haven't had one sexual thought since the court martial. It's pretty extraordinary, isn't it?
General Mireau: If a man's a ninny, let him put on a dress and hide under the bed. But if he wants to be a soldier, then by heavens, he's got to be one. He's got to fight.
Colonel Dax: Tell me, Colonel, how did your relief come off last night?
Colonel Dax: We drew some artillery. Twenty-nine casualties, sir.
General Mireau: Yes, I noticed it on the road in. Utterly inexcusable. Stupid. All swarmed together like flies, just waiting for someone to swat them.
Saint-Auban: Well, they never learn, it seems. They get in a tight spot under heavy fire - gang up every time. Herd instinct, I suppose. Kind of a lower animal sort of thing.
Colonel Dax: Kind of a human thing, it seems to me.
Corporal Paris: You got yourself into a mess, Lieutenant.
Lt. Roget: Oh, I have, have I? Well, you've got yourself in a worse one. First, general insubordination. Second, threatening your superior officer. Third, refusing to obey an order and inciting others to do the same. Now, how do you think those charges are going to look on paper?
Corporal Paris: Not half as bad as these: endangering the lives of your men through recklessness, drunk on duty, wanton murder of one of your own men, and cowardice in the face of the enemy.
Lt. Roget: Phillip, have you ever tried to bring charges against an officer? It's my word against yours, you know. And whose word do you think they're going to believe? Or, let me put it another way. Whose word are they going to accept?
Colonel Dax: Remember, you'll be soldiers in the presence of superior officers, so act like what you are. Soldiers! And brave ones at that. I've been in the room you'll be sitting in. The afternoon sun will be in your faces, so don't let it seem as if you're dropping your eyes in a hangdog manner. When you answer questions, look the judges in the eye. Don't whine, plead, or make speeches. That's my job. Simple statements. Short. But make them so they can be heard all over the room. And try not to repeat yourselves. I'll do that for you when I sum up. We haven't much time. The court martial begins in about an hour. I've got notes to look at. Good luck.
