In 1916, the war between France and Germany has stabilized against heavily fortified trenches zigzagging their way five hundred miles from the English Channel to the Swiss frontier. At a chateau where French officers live in luxury, a Corps Commander General (Adolphe Menjou) meets with his subordinate, the pompous General Mireau (George Macready).

Mireau’s superior proposes attacking a German stronghold known as the Ant Hill. Mireau turns him down, realizing the attack would be a suicide charge, resulting in the slaughter of thousands of his men. But when a promotion is dangled in front of him, Mireau changes his mind.

On the muddy, narrow trenches of the front, the stoic Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) is stunned by the plan, which at best, will result in over half his men being killed. Mireau appeals to the colonel’s patriotism, but Dax quotes Samuel Johnson, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Dax maintains that the plan is impossible, but in order to stay with his men, agrees to lead the attack.

In a masterful ten minute sequence, French troops sweep across a wasteland of muddy gullies, bomb craters, razor wire and bodies on a slog toward the German position. The attack is a failure, and Mireau is so livid when he sees that some of the men never left their trenches, he orders the battery commander to open fire on the troops with their own artillery.

Refusing to admit that the attack failed because it was ill-conceived, Mireau demands that a man from each company be “tried under penalty of death for cowardice.” Corporal Paris (Ralph Meeker) is chosen because his sergeant – a true coward – held a grudge against him, Private Ferol (Timothy Carey) because his captain felt he was “socially undesirable,” and Private Arnaud (Joe Turkel) was picked at random. Dax defends the men in the kangaroo court that quickly convenes.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted by Kubrick, Jim Thompson and Calder Willingham from the 1935 novel by Humphrey Cobb, the film rights to Paths of Glory were purchased from Cobb’s widow by Kubrick’s producing partner, James B. Harris. Gregory Peck was considered to star, but Kirk Douglas was impressed with The Killing and sought Kubrick out, eager to work with him.

Paths of Glory was Kubrick’s first major success as a filmmaker. He’d never make another B-movie again. Like his efforts up until that time, the picture has a stark black and white look, stripped of any big budget accoutrements, but is made with a supreme amount of confidence. It’s also as harshly articulated an argument against war as you can make in a narrative film.

This is a very controlled film, but the style suits the material perfectly. There is no outflowing of sentimentality. The deaths are as plain as you can get. The script makes a searing indictment against the officer class, who risk nothing more than prestige and entitlement, while the enlisted men under their command risk their lives for a piece of dirt.

Meeker, Carey and Turkel are each memorable as the condemned, while Kirk Douglas is powerful throughout. The script poses profound questions about patriotism and what defines it, questions pertinent now more than ever. France, Spain and Israel were indifferent, among the countries which banned the film for nearly twenty years. It received no Academy Award nominations, but stands as one of Kubrick’s finest, most accessible films. Highly recommended.