Ace in the Hole
Directed by BillyWilder
Starring Kirk Douglas
111 minutes
I think Billy Wilder may have pushed things a bit too far with this one. I tend to be cynical but this movie made me feel sick towards the end.
The movie starts off with a very dramatic score. The titles are displayed and the only thing that’s filmed in the background is the dirt of adry desert (there’s a reason for this). Towards the end of the titles, the music changes and you can hear the recurring theme that is heard throughout the film -- it’s campy.
The story is about Charles Tatem. He has worked for the newspaper industry for many years and has been fired by every famous press company. He’s a confident guy and when he “sells” himself to the owner (Mr. Bell) of an Albuquerque newspaper company, he claims that he can make “a fast $200 a week” for him. Mr. Bell is a conservative type, who wears both a belt and suspenders (unwilling to take chances), and wants his press to “tell the truth”. Never-the-less he still hires Charles Tatem.
A year later, Tatem is still stuck in Albuquerque. The only news-worthy events are soapbox derbies or the odd tornado. Tatem hates living in this small town and feels trapped but what exactly are his choices... no big newspaper company in the country would possibly consider hiring him due to his reputation.
On the way to report on the local rattlesnake hunt, Tatem and his his coworker happen to drop by a gas station to fill up on gas. There’s no service station attendant. His coworker goes into the gas station to only find a “crazy” Indian woman praying. Some man has gotten stuck in a cave, hunting for Indian ruins.
Tatem, an opportunist, realizes this has potential as the biggest news in the country. A man stuck in a cave... he’s an army vet with a wife... Indian ruins and bad spirits...
He takes a few pictures and this whole story is front page news all over the country.
Once we realize it, there are thousands of people interested in the tragic circumstances of this story and how it’s going to develop... after this, all things get out of hand.
Billy Wilder is quite capable of turning a black comedy into a circus (One, Two, Three) but as I mentioned earlier, I think this movie goes too far.
(SPOILER) Killing a character in a film is a big decision. I can accept black humor in movies but when an innocent person dies, the story becomes a bit too dark for my taste, especially for a movie from the early 50’s.
The man in the cave is dead, his wife can’t give a damn about him and the people that were interesting in seeing the man in the cave get rescued, can’t really care that much about him. It’s all sad stuff.
If there’s a message to learn from this story... don’t trust the press. People who work for this industry can be assholes that are trying to make a dime from the naive public. Watching this movie made me think about the Chilean miners that were rescued in 2010. What a media circus...
Some interesting points about this movie would be the “black” humor. This is one of those rare movie from that time that has a lot of "smart-ass" comments in it.
For those that like cinematography, there's a pretty incredible crane shot towards the end on top of the mountain.
Kirk Douglas is perfect in this movie as the asshole reporter that has absolutely no scruples.
Ace in the Hole is well made but it left a sour taste in my mouth... 3 stars out of 5.
For more info on this movie, please click here.
