Plot

Paths of Glory is based loosely on the true story of four French soldiers,
under General G�raud R�veilhac, executed for mutiny during World War I; their
families sued, and while the executions were ruled unfair, two of the families
received one franc each, while the others received nothing.

The film begins with a voiceover describing the trench warfare situation of
World War I up to 1916; immediately following this is a scene in which General
George Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) of the French General Staff asks his subordinate,
General Mireau (George Macready), to send his division on a suicidal mission to
take a well-defended hill. Mireau initially advises against the attack, citing
the low probability of success and the danger to his beloved soldiers, but when
General Broulard mentions the possibility of a promotion, Mireau quickly convinces
himself the attack will succeed.

Mireau proceeds to walk through the trenches, addressing his men. He asks several
soldiers (some of whom later become major characters) the question, "Ready to kill
more Germans?" He throws one soldier out of the regiment for showing signs of shell
shock. Mireau leaves the detailed planning of the attack to the 701's R�giment Colonel
Dax (Kirk Douglas) despite Dax's protests that the only result of the attack will be
to weaken the French army with heavy losses for no benefit. Mireau does not relent.

During a scouting mission prior to the attack, a drunken lieutenant sees movement in
the direction of the enemy and throws a grenade. The lieutenant had sent one of his
two men to scout out ahead, and the other soldier - Corporal Paris (Ralph Meeker) -
realizes that the movement was the scout returning. He accuses the lieutenant of killing
his own comrade and then running in cowardice, but the lieutenant denies it.

The attack on the German position proceeds, but ends in complete failure. None of the
men who attack reach the German trenches, and one-third of the soldiers refuse to even
leave the trench (or are unable to, due to heavy enemy fire). The general, enraged, is
convinced that his troops who remained in the trench are cowardly, and orders his own
artillery to open fire on them. The artillery commander refuses to fire on his own men
without written confirmation of the orders.

As a result of the failure of the attack, General Mireau tries to transfer blame from
himself to the soldiers, so he decides to publicly execute 100 of them as an example.
General Broulard convinces Mireau to reduce the number to three, one from each company.
Corporal Paris is chosen because his commanding officer (the one who had thrown a grenade
earlier) has a personal vendetta against him. Private Ferol (Timothy Carey) is picked by
his commanding officer because he is a "social undesirable." The last man, Private Arnaud
(Joe Turkel), is chosen randomly, despite being one of the best and most courageous soldiers.

Colonel Dax defends the men at their court-martial for cowardice. He loses the trial,
despite protesting the court's authenticity. Dax cites being prevented from introducing
evidence that would have been vital for the defence, that the prosecution presented no
witnesses, that no written indictment was ever made against the accused, and that no
stenographic record of the trial was kept. In his final summation to the court he requests
mercy, saying, "Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime to haunt
each of you till the day you die."

Although Dax reveals Mireau's treachery (regarding the artillery) to Broulard, complete with
sworn statements by witnesses, Broulard takes no immediate action. The condemned men are
imprisoned and given a last meal. When visited by a priest, Ferol is willing to have his
confession heard, and Paris agrees after initially admitting to not being religious, but A
rnaud is drunkenly angry and tries to attack the priest. Finally, Paris punches Arnaud to keep
him from attacking the priest. Arnaud falls backward against the wall and fractures his skull.

With great pomp and ceremony, the three men are led out into a courtyard, where the soldiers
from all three companies are present and at attention, along with senior officers and members
of the press. Arnaud is carried out on a stretcher and tied to the execution post. Ferol is
blindfolded and remains accompanied by the priest to the end. Paris takes no blindfold. The
officer in charge of the executions, despite his protests, is none other than the drunken
lieutenant, as ordered by Dax the night before. All three men are then shot and killed by the
firing squad.

Following the execution, General Broulard invites Dax to a breakfast with General Mireau.
He makes it clear that Mireau will be investigated for the order to fire artillery on his
own men. Mireau leaves angrily, declaring that he has been made a scapegoat, but claiming
to the end to be a true soldier. General Broulard then offers Dax Mireau's position,
insinuating that Dax had been angling for promotion all along. Dax responds angrily
insinuating what the general can do with the promotion. The cynical General Broulard disdains
Dax for being an idealist, saying he pities him as he would the village idiot; Broulard adds
that he's done no wrong. Colonel Dax replies that he pities the general for his inability to
see the wrongs he has done.

After the execution, the rest of the battalion is in a bar, carousing, when a young captured
German woman is forced to entertain the French troops on its small stage. When she comes on
stage, the soldiers begin to howl and whistle wolfishly at her attractiveness, encouraged by
the bar manager. After the manager says she can sing and has a "throat of gold," the woman
starts softly singing the German folk song "The Faithful Hussar." The soldiers become
emotionally touched by the song, with many eventually humming along. Outside of the bar's
entrance, and within earshot of the singing inside, Dax gets word that he and his men are to
immediately return to the front. Dax gives the men a few minutes of more time, and he leaves
his men to their moment of pleasure before they go back to the front .



Cast

* Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax
* Ralph Meeker as Cpl. Philippe Paris
* Adolphe Menjou as Gen. George Broulard
* George Macready as Gen. Paul Mireau
* Wayne Morris as Lt. Roget
* Richard Anderson as Maj. Saint-Auban
* Joe Turkel as Pvt. Pierre Arnaud
* Christiane Kubrick as German singer
* Jerry Hausner as Proprietor of cafe
* Peter Capell as Narrator of opening sequence and Judge of court-martial
* Emile Meyer as Father Dupree
* Bert Freed as Sgt. Boulanger
* Kem Dibbs as Pvt. Lejeune
* Timothy Carey as Pvt. Maurice Ferol
* Fred Bell as Shell-shock victim

Distributed by: United Artists
Release date(s): December 25, 1957
Running time: 86 min.
Country: The United States of America
Language: English
Budget: $935,000 - 1957 USD