Banned in Spain under Gen. Francisco Franco's dictatorship for its anti-military message. It wasn't released until 1986, 11 years after Franco's death.
The title is a quotation from Thomas Gray's 'Elegy written in a country churchyard': "The paths of glory lead but to the grave".
Winston Churchill said that the film was a highly accurate depiction of trench warfare and the sometimes misguided workings of the military mind.
Kirk Douglas was irritated by Timothy Carey's erratic acting, and made his irritation known, loudly. However, Stanley Kubrick seemed to have enjoyed getting Douglas riled up. During the court-martial scene, when Douglas was criticizing Carey's delivery, Kubrick whispered to Carey, "Make this a good one, because Kirk doesn't like it."
During filming Timothy Carey (Pvt. Maurice Ferol) was disruptive. He also faked his own kidnapping for personal publicity, causing Stanley Kubrick and producer James B. Harris to fire him. Because of this, they were unable to show the three condemned soldiers during the battle scene, and a double was used for the scene when the priest hears Ferol's confession.