Ace in the Hole (1951)

 Ace in the Hole (1951)

In a world where the trades are able to get away with publishing nasty stories about celebrity breakups or political trades smear their opponents with loony nonsense, Billy Wilder’s cynical, dark 1951 picture Ace in the Hole could not be more relevant in the modern world. Wilder spares no one in his biting, satirical portrayal of the American media institution, which may be a reason why the film received unfair negative reviews upon release. The good guys are the victims while the media and the public are the bad guys. Of course, the trades are the one who writes such sensational journalism. But who eats these stories up? The public! The public absolutely love the celebrity gossip or the next big tragedy. Much hasn’t changed since 1951. In fact, with the advent of social media, sensation in the news has gotten way worse. Wilder’s film is a tightly edited narrative with a strong screenplay and an excellent, fierce performance from Kirk Douglas.

 Coming off the heels of Sunset Boulevard, Wilder was ready for the next big thing. With such a juicy story, there is no way he could have failed, right? Unfortunately, you would be wrong surmising such thoughts. Not only did it receive poor reviews upon release, but it was also labeled box office poison. Paramount changed the title to “The Big Carnival” to get more butts in the seats, but that ultimately failed. The studio took a portion of Wilder’s cut from his next film to make up for the box office failure. I believe the media was tepid towards the film because Wilder went after everyone and did not hold back. Contemporary critics are much more favorable to the point where it can be considered an all-time classic. The easy way to view the narrative is to hold back any bias which can be an impossible thing. The story itself was inspired by tragic true events. Floyd Collins was trapped in a Kentucky cave and a reporter used the event to create a national sensation earning himself a Pulitzer Prize. The other event took place in 1949 when a young girl fell in a well in California and thousands of people showed up just to see what would happen. Both people died. I also think the film is incorrectly labeled a film-noir. Yes, there are some elements of the genre here, but I think it is just a film about poor journalism.

 Charles Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a very skilled reporter who has been fired from eleven major East Coast media outlets for various issues such as alcoholism. After a car accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he cons the local media office for a job that would help him return to the East Coast. His big break comes a year later when the owner of a trading post gets trapped in a cave. Tatum uses this opportunity to help him better his future. He realizes that the man could be rescued within a day but he comes up with a different plan of rescue so he can milk the story for as long as he can. This becomes a national media sensation as people from all over go to the desert to see everything happen with their own eyes. Here comes the cue for the popcorn and cotton candy vendors. Tatum has a problem on hand when he discovers that the owner’s not-so-loving wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling) has been taking cash from the register and is planning to ditch her husband. Not if Charles has anything to say about that!

 Kirk Douglas is known for his good-guy roles, but he can put on a ferocious face when needed. This is one of his most savage, bitter roles. He truly sunk his teeth deep into the material and ran away with it. It was great watching him con the public (and the corrupt sheriff) with the trapped man, but I think even more impressive is the scenes where he conned the newspaper office into handing him a job. Jan Sterling also delivers a strong performance. She might have my favorite quote in the entire film, the one about why she doesn’t go to church.

Ace in the Hole is a scornful, bitter film about the shoddiness of sensational journalism. Everyone likes a happy ending, but do not go looking for that here (Joseph Breen of the Hay’s Code might have done a thing or two about that). Still, the events of this story is what happens often in the world today…when the media decides to make a huge story about nothing in the name of profit or bettering their careers. The film hit me straight on as Wilder makes no attempt to be subtle. There is a reason why I can’t digest trades such as “US Weekly” whose only goal is to make a buck or two by spreading gossip about celebrities. Behind Wilder’s masterful direction, Douglas’s excellent performance, and great screenplay and editing, this film is another must-see from Billy Wilder’s filmography.

 

My Grade: A-