Paths of Glory

film by Kubrick [1957]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Last Updated: Nov 9, 2024 • Article History

Paths of Glory, American war film, released in 1957, that elevated its young director, Stanley Kubrick, to international prominence. Its controversial portrayal of the French military prevented it from being shown in several European countries for years.

The film, set during World War I, is anchored by Kirk Douglas’s powerful performance as Colonel Dax, a gallant officer in the French military who is forced to lead his men in a suicidal attack on a German position. The costly failure of the strategy leads Dax’s superior officer, General Mireau (played by George Macready), to shift blame to the troops, whom he accuses of cowardice. With the consent of his own superior, General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou), Mireau chooses three infantrymen to be condemned to death by firing squad in an apparent attempt at deterring any other soldiers from being derelict in their combat duties. Appalled, Dax, who had been a lawyer in civilian life, acts as defense counsel for his men in the vague hope of trying to bring justice to a kangaroo court. The men are ultimately executed, however, and Dax, along with the remaining soldiers under his command, is sent back to the front line.

Paths of Glory was adapted from Canadian writer Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 novel of the same name, which Kubrick had read in his youth. It was shot in West Germany, with a local farm providing the setting for the harrowing opening battle sequence. Although the film failed to win any significant awards at the time, it has since been considered one of the greatest antiwar movies ever made. Nevertheless, Kubrick’s provocative denouncement of elitism in the French officer corps, and of military bureaucracy in general, delayed the film’s release in France until 1975, in Switzerland until 1978, and in Spain until 1986. Christiane Harlan, credited as Susanne Christian, played a German captive forced to serenade French soldiers in the film’s moving conclusion; she married Kubrick after the production.