1957's Paths of Glory, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stars Kirk Douglas and a lot of good supporting actors.
Lots of good scenes, so you get
three four.
Here is an early scene that introduces some of the characters. A general (George Macready) and major (Richard Anderson) inspect the troops. Some similarity to Patton as you will see.
A secondary sub-plot is that during a 3-man night scouting mission, a drunken company commander (Wayne Morris) tosses a grenade and retreats, to later be told he killed one of his own men. He files a false report. Morris is excellent as the slimy weasel.
Here, Kirk Douglas is leading the suicide charge toward "The Ant Hill".
The charge ultimately failed as expected. A second charge is ordered, and the general orders shelling on his own men to get them to move, though the attack doesn't get going as the German's defenses are too great. The general wants 100 soldiers shot for cowardice. Finally, he settles on one man from each company.
"They're scum."
Have to go to the Turner website for this one:
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/1229100/Paths-Of-Glory-Movie-Clip-They-re-Scum.html
The three men (Timothy Carey, Joe Turkel, and Ralph Meeker) picked by each company commander. A "trial" was convened in which Richard Anderson prosecutes them and Kirk Douglas defends them. Ralph Meeker tells Douglas he was picked because he knows the company commander tossed the grenade. Douglas makes the commander lead the firing squad, and Morris meekly apologizes to Meeker. (The guy on the stretcher accidentally got a skull fracture the night before. The general hopes he'll be awake for the firing squad).
The title is from the ninth stanza of Thomas Gray's long poem: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th'inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Last edited by SpecialK; 02-03-2018 at 03:44 PM.