History Trivia / PathsOfGlory

** While not actually ''banned'', the extremely unflattering portrait of the World War One French Army led to pressure on the film's distributor not to release it in France. As a result, it was never screened for French censors and not released there until 1975.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Although the story takes place on France's western front, Creator/StanleyKubrick chose to shoot the film in and around Munich. Most interior scenes were filmed at Bavaria's Geiselgasteig Studios, and the court-martial scenes were shot in nearby Schleissheim Castle, an 18th-century structure then serving as a national museum. Just beyond this location is the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial.

* BigNameFan:
** According to film historian Robert Osborne, this is the favorite war film of John [=McCain=].
** In a 2019 interview, Creator/TerryGilliam described watching this film when he was a teenager as a life-changing experience, and acknowledged that the long tracking shots in ''Film/{{Brazil}}'' are his "homage" to Kubrick's trench scenes.
** Creator/DavidSimon named the film as an influence on ''Series/TheWire''. The influence of the film comes in its depiction of the tribulations of "middle management", in the form of Dax's unsuccessful attempt to protect his troops against the inhumane ambitions of his superiors, which in turn influenced the series' depiction of various institutions acting against individuals

* RealLifeRelative: Retroactively. The woman who sings at the end, Christiane Harlan, would become Mrs. Kubrick — Stanley's third wife -x a year later. They met during this filming and remained married until his death in 1999.

** Creator/KirkDouglas told Creator/StanleyKubrick, "Stanley, I don't think this picture will ever make a nickel, but we have to make it." Douglas' words proved to be prophetic-the film was not a success at the box office.

* RealLifeRelative: Retroactively. The woman who sings at the end, Christiane Harlan, would become Mrs. Kubrick -- Stanley's third wife -- a year later. They met during this filming and remained married until his death in 1999.
* ThrowItIn: Private Ferol's undignified breakdown [[spoiler: as he's led before the firing squad]] was improvised. According to Timothy Carey, the actor portraying him, he was warned to make it good because Creator/KirkDouglas wasn't liking it at all.

** After getting a development deal at MGM, Kubrick chose to do this film because he'd liked the novel when he'd read it years before.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/GregoryPeck was initially offered the role of Col. Dax, but he had to turn it down due to a theatrical commitment. Creator/CharltonHeston was offered the role, but he chose to star in ''Film/TouchOfEvil''. Creator/RichardBurton and Creator/JamesMason were also considered.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Or, in this case, Cowardly Character, Heroic Actor. Wayne Morris, who played the pusillanimous Lt. Roget, was a true war hero in RealLife. He was a naval aviator - an AcePilot with nine aerial victories - in WWII, garnering four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals while flying a fighter off the USS Essex.

* DoingItForTheArt: Creator/KirkDouglas told Creator/StanleyKubrick, "Stanley, I don't think this picture will ever make a nickel, but we have to make it." Douglas' words proved to be prophetic-the film was not a success at the box office.

* FakeNationality: The important French characters are played by American actors. For added irony points, the extras who play other French soldiers are mostly Germans, as the film was shot in Bavaria.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/GregoryPeck was initially offered the role of Col. Dax, but he had to turn it down due to a theatrical commitment. Creator/CharltonHeston was offered the role, but he chose to star in ''Film/TouchOfEvil''. Creator/RichardBurton and James Mason were also considered.

* AuthorAppeal
** In real life, Adolph Menjou was a faded 1920s matinee idol who was famous in the 1950s more for his reactionary political views and support of the Hollywood Blacklist. Kubrick convinced Menjou that Broulard was the hero of the film, opposed by the scheming blackmailer Dax.
* BannedInChina

* ThrowItIn: Private Ferol's undignified breakdown [[spoiler: as he's led before the firing squad]] was improvised. According to Timothy Carey, the actor portraying him, he was warned to make it good because Kirk Douglas wasn't liking it at all.

* RealLifeRelative: Retroactively. The woman who sings at the end, Christiane Harlan, would become Mrs. Kubrick -- Stanley's third wife -- a year later. They met during this filiming and remained married until his death in 1999.

** While not actually ''banned'', the extremely unflattering portrait of the World War One French Army led to pressure on the film's distributor not to release it in France. As a result, it was never screened for French censors and not released there until 1975. In order to maintain good relations with its neighbor.
** Germany also kept the film from being released for two years after its premiere.

* [[BannedInChina Banned in France]]: Sort of. While not actually ''banned'', the extremely unflattering portrait of the World War One French Army led to pressure on the film's distributor not to release it in France. As a result, it was never screened for French censors and not released there until 1975. In order to maintain good relations with its neighbor, Germany also kept the film from being released for two years after its premiere.

* FakeNationality: The French characters are played by American actors.