Paths of Glory: An Early Kubrick Film

A Cold War-era treatment of an earlier conflict, Paths of Glory (1957) addresses injustice within the ranks during World War I. In the film, a regimental commander in the French army, played by Kirk Douglas, tries to address callous treatment of line troops by the French high command. Built upon class divisions, the film depicts an entrenched establishment that cannot be challenged no matter how irrational or heartless the orders from above.

Director Stanley Kubrick was just 28 years old when he made Paths of Glory. It was only his fourth feature film and his first critical success. The movie was based on a 1935 novel by Humphrey Cobb, which was adapted for the stage in the same year by a WWI-veteran named Sidney Howard. The play was a flop on Broadway because audiences found its harsh anti-war scenes disturbing. Nevertheless, Sidney Howard continued to believe in the relevance of the story’s message and pushed for Hollywood to take up the “sacred obligation to make the picture,” as he put it. Kubrick remembered reading Cobb’s novel years earlier and purchased the film rights from Cobb’s widow for $10,000. Sidney Howard’s “sacred obligation” was now to be fulfilled.

Premiering in 1957, the film was just a modest popular success, but it earned Kubrick much critical acclaim. It was the start of his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most talented and significant directors of all time. Kubrick went on to direct such classics as Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. In addition to Kirk Douglas, the film starred Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Meeker, and George Macready.

The film title, Paths of Glory, is something of misnomer. Kubrick reveals a most inglorious reality of the irrationality and horrific loss of life in WWI. With powerful performances paired with battle scenes of gritty realism, Paths of Glory shows the fight was not always just with the enemy.

This blog was originally written in 2017 by Peter Jakab to promote "Hollywood Goes to War: World War I on the Big Screen," a film series at the Museum. It was updated in 2025. You can read the original via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.