Paths of Glory (1957)

Kirk Douglas: Col. Dax

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Quotes 

• General Broulard : It would be a pity to lose your promotion before you get it. A promotion you have so very carefully planned for.

  Colonel Dax : Sir, would you like me to suggest what you can do with that promotion?

  General Broulard : [angry]  Colonel Dax! You will apologize at once or I shall have you placed under arrest!

  Colonel Dax : [with building anger]  I apologize... for not being entirely honest with you. I apologize for not revealing my true feelings. I apologize, sir, for not telling you sooner that you're a degenerate, sadistic old man. And you can go to hell before I apologize to you now or ever again!

  General Broulard : Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist... and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them. Wherein have I done wrong?

  Colonel Dax : Because you don't know the answer to that question. I pity you.

• Colonel Dax : Gentlemen of the court, there are times when I'm ashamed to be a member of the human race and this is one such occasion. It's impossible for me to summarise the case for the defence since the Court never allowed me a reasonable opportunity to present that case.

  General Mireau : Are you protesting the authenticity of this court?

  Colonel Dax : [pause]  Yes, sir. I protest against being prevented from introducing evidence which I considered vital to the defence; the prosecution presented no witnesses; there has never been a written indictment of charges made against the defendants, and lastly, I protest against the fact that no stenographic records of this trial have been kept.

  [pause] 

  Colonel Dax : The attack yesterday morning was no stain on the honour of France, and certainly no disgrace to the fighting men of this nation. But this Court Martial is such a stain, and such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime, to haunt each of you till the day you die. I can't believe that the noblest impulse for man - his compassion for another - can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you... show mercy to these men.

• General Broulard : Colonel Dax, are you trying to blackmail me?

  Colonel Dax : It's an ugly word, but you are in a difficult situation.

• General Broulard : Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist... and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them. Wherein have I done wrong?

  Colonel Dax : Because you don't know the answer to that question. I pity you.

• [last lines] 

  [Col. Dax listens to his regiment humming in the tavern] 

  Sgt. Boulanger : Sir?

  Colonel Dax : Yes, sir.

  Sgt. Boulanger : We have orders to move back to the front immediately.

  Colonel Dax : Well give the men a few minutes more, Sergeant.

  Sgt. Boulanger : Yes, sir.

• General Mireau : I can't understand these armchair officers, fellas trying to fight a war from behind a desk, waving papers at the enemy, worrying about whether a mouse is gonna run up their pants leg.

  Colonel Dax : I don't know, General. If I had the choice between mice and Mausers, I think I'd take the mice every time.

• Colonel Dax : Too much has happened. Someone's got to be hurt. The only question is who. General Mireau's assault on the Ant Hill failed. His order to fire on his own troops was refused. But his attempt to murder three innocent men to protect his own reputation will be prevented by the General Staff.

• Colonel Dax : Let me get this straight, sir. You're offering me General Mireau's command?

  General Broulard : Come, come, Colonel Dax. Don't overdo the surprise.You've been after the job from the start. We all know that, my boy.

  Colonel Dax : I may be many things, sir, but I am not your boy.

  General Broulard : Well, I certainly didn't mean to imply any biological relationship.

• General Mireau : Who was this man?

  Colonel Dax : Samuel Johnson, sir.

  General Mireau : All right. Now, what did he have to say about patriotism?

  Colonel Dax : He said it was the last refuge of a scoundrel, sir. I'm sorry. I meant nothing personal.

• General Broulard : Colonel Dax, I'm going to have ten men from each company in your regiment tried under penalty of death for cowardice.

  Colonel Dax : Penalty of death? - For cowardice!

  General Broulard : They've skim milk in their veins instead of blood.

  Colonel Dax : It's the reddest milk I've ever seen. My trenches are soaked with it!

• Colonel Dax : How many casualties do you expect, sir?

  General Mireau : Say 5 percent killed by our own barrage, 10 percent more getting through No Man's Land, and 20 percent more getting through the wire. Say another 25 percent in actually taking the Ant Hill and we're still left with a force more than adequate to hold it.

• General Broulard : Colonel, troops are like children. Just as a child wants his father to be firm, troops crave discipline.

  Colonel Dax : I see.

  General Broulard : One way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then.

  Colonel Dax : May I ask - do you sincerely believe the things you've said?

  General Broulard : It's been a pleasure discussing this with you, Colonel, but I'm afraid that I'd better be getting back to my guests.

• General Mireau : Patriotism may be old-fashioned, but a patriot is an honest man.

  Colonel Dax : Not everyone has always thought so.

• Colonel Dax : Tell me, Colonel, how did your relief come off last night?

  Colonel Dax : We drew some artillery. Twenty-nine casualties, sir.

  General Mireau : Yes, I noticed it on the road in. Utterly inexcusable. Stupid. All swarmed together like flies, just waiting for someone to swat them.

  Saint-Auban : Well, they never learn, it seems. They get in a tight spot under heavy fire - gang up every time. Herd instinct, I suppose. Kind of a lower animal sort of thing.

  Colonel Dax : Kind of a human thing, it seems to me.

• Colonel Dax : Remember, you'll be soldiers in the presence of superior officers, so act like what you are. Soldiers! And brave ones at that. I've been in the room you'll be sitting in. The afternoon sun will be in your faces, so don't let it seem as if you're dropping your eyes in a hangdog manner. When you answer questions, look the judges in the eye. Don't whine, plead, or make speeches. That's my job. Simple statements. Short. But make them so they can be heard all over the room. And try not to repeat yourselves. I'll do that for you when I sum up. We haven't much time. The court martial begins in about an hour. I've got notes to look at. Good luck.

• Colonel Dax : They're not cowards. So, it some of them didn't leave the trenches, it must have been because it was impossible.

  General Mireau : They were ordered to attack. It was their duty to obey that order. We can't leave it up to the men to decide whether an order is possible or not. If it was impossible, the only proof of that would be their dead bodies lying about in the trenches. They're scum, Colonel. The whole rotten regiment. A pack of sneaking, whining, tail-dragging curs.

• General Broulard : There's the troops' morale, don't forget that.

  Colonel Dax : The troops' morale?

  General Broulard : Certainly. These executions will be a perfect tonic for the entire division.