TCM BREAKFAST CLUB SCREENING Paths of Glory I 1957 Directed by Stanley Kubrick The precocious talent of Stanley Kubrick had already come to public attention when, still in his late 20s, he made Paths of Glory in 1957. A year earlier he revealed his extraordinary gifts as both storyteller and motion picture craftsman with the noir-influenced crime thriller The Killing. Bleak and sombre, Paths of Glory was released when America was not, for once, embroiled in military conflict. While World War II had ended twelve years earlier and Korea’s ceasefire was into its fifth year, their legacy was still an agonising issue for thousands of bereaved families and injured ex-service personnel, not to mention the increasingly idealistic generation of young Americans whom John F Kennedy would find so receptive to his political creed three years later. Paths of Glory, with its powerful anti-war message, would therefore have struck a chord with many, says TCM writer David Humphrey Kubrick adapted Paths of Glory from Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 ambitious General Mireau (George Macready) orders a regiment novel, whose title Cobbs had cribbed from a line in Thomas on a suicidal mission to take a hill thinking it will enhance his Gray’s famous poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard: chances of promotion. He leaves the planning to a disbelieving Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas), who can see the operation is The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, doomed. And so it proves - the mission is a complete failure. And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, None of the French troops reaches the German stronghold, with Awaits alike th'inevitable hour. a third of them not even leaving the trench either because they The paths of glory lead but to the grave. can see the pointlessness of the assault or are pinned down by enemy fire. Furious, the French general orders his own artillery The film takes its inspiration from the true story of five French to open fire on them to scare them into leaving. The artillery soldiers executed for cowardice and mutiny on the Western Front commander refuses to shell his own men without written during World War I. Their families sued, and while the executions confirmation. General Mireau then decides to take his revenge were ruled unfair, two of the families received just one franc through the firing squad. “If those little sweethearts won't face each and the other three received nothing. In Kubrick’s film, German bullets, they'll face French ones!” he storms. Three TCM : SKY 319, VIRGIN TV 419 AND TOP UP TV 25/ANYTIME TCMONLINE.CO.UK TCM 2: SKY 320 soldiers, one from each company, are to be publicly executed. censors in Spain for its anti-military message, not being released Corporal Paris (Ralph Meeker) is chosen because his until 1986, 11 years after the dictator’s death. commanding officer has a personal vendetta against him. Private Ferol (Timothy Carey) is picked by because he is a social outcast. Richard Burton, Gregory Peck and James Mason were all The last man, Private Arnaud (Joe Turkel), is chosen randomly, contenders for the role of Drax, and it only went to Kirk Douglas despite being an outstanding soldier. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) after his planned appearance in a Broadway play that would defends the men at their court-martial but the verdict inevitably have clashed with filming did not go ahead. goes against them. The three men are led into a courtyard, placed in front a firing squad drawn from their own comrades, When filming got under way, Kubrick more than lived up to his and shot. General Broulard sums up the High Command’s perfectionist reputation: he shot 68 takes of the doomed men's cynicism when he says: “There are few things more "last meal" scene. To the caterers’ chagrin, a new roast duck fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone supper had to be prepared for almost every take. Kubrick else die”. meanwhile was determined to make the film as authentic as possible, and for the climactic battle sequence a 5,000 square In the final scenes, the action switches to a bar where the men yard pasture was rented from a German farmer. After paying for are drowning their sorrows when a captured German girl is the crops he would have raised there, the production team forced to entertain the Frenchmen singing with her 'golden moved in with eight cranes and up to 60 crew members worked throat'. At first the troops leer and jeer, but when she starts around the clock for three weeks to create trenches, shell holes singing a German folk song, a hush falls over them and many and the rough, muddy terrain of a World War I battleground. More join in. The sad refrain touches the hearts of the hardened than a ton of explosives were ignited in the first week of filming infantrymen because of its theme of the loss of a loved one alone. while a soldier is away at war. With the singing in the background, Dax receives orders to return with his men to the For Kubrick, Paths of Glory turned out to be his path to front. For one brief moment they can be spared the bullets and matrimony, for he married German actress Susanne Christian, bayonets that await them. who played the girl whose singing moved the French troops to tears, and they stayed together for 47 years until his death in Shot in and around the city of Munich, Paths of Glory sparked 1999. controversy in Europe: it was banned in France until 1975 on the grounds that it dishonoured the French Army; In Germany its References and further reading: The Authorised Stanley Kubrick release was held up for two years amid fears that it would strain Website http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com; The Stanley Kubrick relations with France. It was also banned by General Franco’s Archives by Alison Castle (Taschen). ESCAPE TO A WORLD OF FILM THIS APRIL WITH TCM. TCM celebrates Easter and the arrival of spring in April by giving viewers the chance to sing-a-long to musicals, double as detectives and enjoy top-class science fiction. They’re also able to sample the work of the exciting young filmmakers featured in last year’s TCM Classic Shorts and learn how to enter the 2007 competition. There are a string of Miss Marple whodunits starring the inimitable Margaret Rutherford; classic musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain (1952), complete with on-screen lyrics, and movie masterpieces including the multi-Oscar winning Ben-Hur (1959). Also lined up is a dedicated Sci-fi Weekend with highlights that include the three Mad Max movies. Over on TCM2, viewers can enjoy a selection of top titles built around the themes of crime, art and the city of New York. And four movies are TCM 2 premieres – Maybe Baby (2000); Tommy (1975); Wild Geese (1978) and Gods & Monsters (1998). www.cornerhouse.org.