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Ace in the Hole (1951)
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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.
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