Paths of Glory

1957

1h 28m

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

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War

Drama

History

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

Directors

Stanley Kubrick

Writers

Jim Thompson(screenplay by)

Stanley Kubrick(screenplay by)

Calder Willingham(screenplay by)

Stars

Kirk Douglas

Ralph Meeker

Adolphe Menjou

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

Col. Dax

Cpl. Philippe Paris

Gen. George Broulard

Gen. Paul Mireau

Lt. Roget…

Maj. Saint-Auban

Pvt. Pierre Arnaud

German Singer

Proprietor of Cafe

Narrator of Opening Sequence

Father Dupree

Sgt. Boulanger

Pvt. Lejeune

Pvt. Maurice Ferol

Shell-Shocked Soldier

John Stein

Capt. Rousseau

Harold Benedict

Capt. Nichols

Paul Bös

Maj. Gouderc (uncredited)

Directors

Stanley Kubrick

Writers

Jim Thompson(screenplay by)

Stanley Kubrick(screenplay by)

Calder Willingham(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

"Col. Dax" (Kirk Dougas) is cajoled by "Gen. Broulard" (Adolphe Menjou) into taking his Great War weary regiment on one last mission in occupied France. Frankly, it's little better than a suicide one, but his operational commander "Gen. Mireau" (George Macready) is determined at all costs that they succeed. Let battle commence! Only the French soldiers quickly realise that they are facing a well armed, immovable, German opponent and are either killed or driven back. Desperate to motivate his men, "Mireau" gives an order that is luckily not acted upon and with the mission deemed a failure and many of the men now in the relative safety of their trenches, the general orders a court martial for cowardice of three of the survivors. "Dax" is appalled but a trial there must be... Are the right people being tried and is the outcome a mere formality? I saw a 16mm print of this rather gripping and depressing wartime drama and it augmented the genuine sense of peril faced by these men as incoming artillery, the claustrophobic trench existences and - make no mistake - the competencies of their officers are put on display for us. It's dark, wet, gritty and as we reach the denouement clearly illustrative of the futility of much of this stage of this war. Kirk Douglas takes top billing and is adequate, it's Macready who actually steals this for me and the director's wife does the briefest of scenes as a German cabaret singer, too. Again, I think cinema will focus this better than television, but either way it's a thought-provoking exposé of war that holds up well 60-odd years later.

Geronimo196723 Nov, 2023