Paths of Glory (1957)

11.05pm, Thursday, BBC Four

“If those little sweethearts won’t face German bullets, they’ll face French ones!”

With the possible exception of All Quiet On The Western Front, Paths of Glory is the nest antiwar lm ever to emerge from Hollywood. Kirk Douglas is terri c as Colonel Dax, the French lawyer defending three of his (randomly selected) men against a charge of cowardice, arising from a suicidal mission set in train by overlyambitious generals. Stunningly directed by a young Stanley Kubrick (check out those soon-to-be-trademark tracking shots through the trenches), Paths of Glory is beautifully photographed by Georg Krause, who based his compositions directly on still portraits taken during the period. In addition to Douglas, there are star turns from Menjou and Macready as the odious, selfseeking military brass with nothing but contempt for his subordinates; and from Timothy Carey, Joseph Turkel and Ralph Meeker as the scapegoats forced to pay the ultimate price. The atmosphere of tension Kubrick generates during both the courtmartial and execution sequences is thrilling.

Based on a 1934 novel by Humphrey Cobb, Paths of Glory was acquired by Kirk Douglas for his own production company. He o ered the directorial duties to Kubrick who had impressed with his previous o ering, The Killing (also featuring Timothy Carey). The lm was shot mostly in Munich, at a cost of $900,000, so it’s German policemen we see portraying the French troops. Despite the lm’s critical appeal, it was banned in France and Switzerland, though Winston Churchill is said to have loved it. By the way, The German girl (Suzanne Christian) who sings to the French troops at the end of the lm, would become Kubrick’s second wife.