Pulp writer Jim Thompson adapted a World War I novel that Kubrick read as a teenager into a screenplay, which was produced thanks to the enthusiasm of Kirk Douglas. A French battalion is roundly defeated by Germans in an ill-advised campaign conceived by the ambitious General Mireau (George Macready). Douglas stars as Colonel Dax, a lawyer in civilian life, who volunteers to defend the surviving soldiers facing court-martial. Adolph Menjou costars.

“Unlike any other war film of its kind, Paths of Glory divides its attention equally among officers and enlisted men, constructing a complex picture of a war fought not only on open battlefields, but in boardrooms as well. A thoroughgoing investigation of the terms ‘brave’ and ‘cowardice,’ Paths of Glory offers far more than a mere ‘anti-war’ statement, paring with almost surgical precision to the heart of the fear, hubris, and mendacity that keep the war machine going.” –writer David Ehrenstein

Read David Ehrenstein's essay here.