Which actor stars as General Dax in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory?

Kirk Douglas stars as Colonel Dax, often identified as General Dax in casual descriptions, in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.

Dax is a French army officer and lawyer who defends soldiers accused of cowardice after a failed First World War attack. Douglas’s character opposes the army command’s decision to make the men scapegoats for a military failure. The performance gives the film its moral and emotional center while keeping the focus on institutional injustice.

Paths of Glory was released in 1957 and was adapted from Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 novel. The film’s trench and battlefield sequences were staged with elaborate tracking shots, while its courtroom and military scenes expose the contrast between ordinary soldiers and senior officers. Its anti-war message led to controversy, particularly in France, where it was not released commercially until 1975.

Douglas also helped the film happen by serving as its leading star and executive producer. Paths of Glory was not a commercial success at first, but it later became one of Kubrick’s most highly regarded early films.