Aldophe Menjou is just as much of a scoundrel as he was twenty five years earlier in The Front Page, if somewhat less charming. He has been in a ton of stuff and I’m surprised we haven’t crossed paths more. He would have made an excellent Hercule Poirot. Speaking of path crossing, this is only the second film I’ve seen George Macready in, the first being Gilda.
Joe Turkel (The Shining, Blade Runner) plays a private, but I don’t remember him. A young Richard Anderson (Forbidden Planet, Six Million Dollar Man) is here. I saw him at ComiCon just before he passed. He wanted $100 for an autograph and wouldn’t even look up to engage the fans. This is the other Kubrick film with Timothy Carey. He was disruptive, faked his own kidnapping, and was fired. They used a body double in some scenes. So, yea, my opinion of him hasn’t changed.
Half war film, half courtroom drama, Paths of Glory is spectacular. Kubrick brought the script to Kirk Douglas who knew he must make the film. Studios, being all about the Benjamins, weren’t so hot on the property. In the end everyone was right. Kirk for how good and important the film would be and the studios on how much it would make. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz called it Kubrick's greatest film, and one could make an argument. It's definitely Kubrick's first great film and stands well with the rest. I have The Killing a 4 so I feel compelled to bump Paths of Glory to 4.5. It was the best film I saw in a long while. At least for the blog.
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