Paths of Glory is a 1935 war novel by Humphrey Cobb. Set during the World War I, the story tells of the French 181st company, which is sent by the general's order to carry out a reckless attack in no man's land with the purpose to take the strategically important "Pimple", and how the failure is covered up by court martialing "war criminals" for cowardice.[1]
The book was based on the Souain corporals affair, an actual event in WWI when the French Army shot four men for cowardice as an example to others.[2][3][4]
Background
Cobb had served for three years during the World War I, including duty on the front lines at the Battle of Amiens in France in 1918.[3][5][6] Based on his experiences, Cobb wrote Paths of Glory while working at the Young & Rubicam advertising agency in New York.[7]
Adaptations
In 1935, Sidney Howard wrote the Broadway stage adaptation of Cobb's novel of the same year. With its unsparing depictions of battlefield brutality, the play failed at the box office. As a World War I veteran, however, Howard believed it necessary to show the horrors of armed conflict. Convinced that the novel should be filmed one day, Howard wrote, "It seems to me that our motion picture industry must feel something of a sacred obligation to make the picture."[8]
The film version of the novel, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, was released in 1957.[3][4] Fulfilling Howard's "sacred obligation", Kubrick decided to adapt it to the screen after he remembered reading the book when he was younger.[4][9] Kubrick and his partners purchased the film rights from Cobb's widow for $10,000.[4][10]
Iftakhar, Shampa (2015). "Paths of Glory: Injustice and Crime against Humanity". International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics. 1 (3): 208–211.
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