Editing Paths of Glory (section)

====The film's "grim" plot====
The overriding tone of the motion picture also evoked comments about the picture's marketability, namely its scant appeal to a very large segment of moviegoers. "Grim" is the word that frequently appears in contemporary reviews of the film, an adjective understandably applied given the story's brutal subject matter, and a word still commonly used even in complimentary assessments by critics. In its March 18, 1958 edition, the ''[[Chicago Daily Tribune]]'' summarizes the release as "a grim, forceful story, presented in blunt, unvarnished fashion, entirely lacking in the customary cliches, deftly directed."<ref>Tinee, Mae (1958). "Film Indicts 2 Soldiers of World War I", ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', March 18, 1958, p. a5. Retrieved via ProQuest, July 25, 2022. {{ProQuest|<!--ProQuest data goes here  --> }} The name of this reviewer, "Mae Tinee", was a [[pen name]] used over the years by a series of film critics working at the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', a name derived as a humorous reconfiguration from the word "[[wikt:Special:Search/matinee|matinee]]".</ref> Whitney Williams, a critic for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', previewed the film six weeks before it opened at the Fine Arts Theatre in Los Angeles. In his review, which was published on November 20, 1957, Williams anticipates limited interest as well as limited box-office revenue for the picture:{{blockquote|"Paths of Glory" is a starkly realistic recital of French army politics in 1916 during World War I. While the subject is well handled and enacted in a series of outstanding characterizations, it seems dated and makes for grim screen fare. Even with the Kirk Douglas star name to spark its chances, outlook is spotty at best and will need all the hard selling United Artists, which is distributing the Bryna production, can muster.<ref name="Variety57a">"Whit." [Whitney Williams] (1957). [https://archive.org/details/variety208-1957-11/page/n169/mode/2up "Paths of Glory"], ''Variety'' (New York and Los Angeles), November 20, 1957, p. 6. Retrieved via Internet Archives, July 25, 2022. Within the film-crew credits that Whitney Williams provides with his review, he states that he previewed the motion picture on "Nov. 12, '57".</ref>}}
''[[Harrison's Reports]]'', an independent and advertisement-free film review journal in 1957, agreed with ''Variety'''s critic and in November expressed doubts too that the "World War I melodrama" would be successful commercially after its general release in January 1958.<ref name="HR57">[https://archive.org/details/harrisonsreports39harr/page/n219/mode/2up "'Paths of Glory' with Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou and Ralph Meeker"], review, ''Harrison's Reports'' (New York, N.Y.), November 23, 1957, p. 188. Retrieved via Internet Archive, July 30, 2022.</ref><ref name="AFIa">[https://catalog.afi.com/Film/52321-PATHS-OFGLORY?sid=225103ca-2d02-437e-ab6c-3af952b60f25&sr=10.723185&cp=1&pos=0 "Paths of Glory (1958)"], production details, catalog of the American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles California. Retrieved July 26, 2022.</ref> "Just how it will fare at the box-office is a matter of conjecture", ''Harrison's'' stated, characterizing its central theme as "a grim and unpleasant study of man's inhumanity toward man".<ref name="HR57"/>