Ace in the Hole - Meet Chuck Tatum

Billy Wilder's acid media satire forever branded him the sometimes overstated label of "cynic." Ace in the Hole was too acerbic for 1951 movie-goers and reviled on its release. It has since garnered critical acclaim and a cult following.

Unscrupulous reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) delays the rescue of a man trapped in an ancient Indian mine to grab a big story, literally creating a media circus. Tatum, the sheriff, and even the man's wife (Jan Sterling) are out to make a buck from his misfortune.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• billy
• wilder
• ace
• in
• the
• hole
• kirk
• douglas
• jan
• sterling

[RubyTuesday717]

"Even for Albuquerque, this is pretty Albuquerque." Or, as I lovingly refer to ACE IN THE HOLE, "Even for Billy Wilder, this is pretty Billy Wilder."

[antihostile]

Perhaps my favorite movie. A masterpiece.

[leszekmilewski]

i love movies from the 50's

[lcar4000]

Jan Sterling was fascinating in this film as "Mrs. Minosa"

[ttlms]

I loved this movie. I was attracted by three things: Kirk Douglas, Billy Wilder, and Porter Hall (one of my favorite character actors). Douglas does a great job cast way off type.

For a great double feature, follow this with "A Face in the Crowd".

[Delriversit]

It wouldn't be unreasonable to assert that each student in the United States, at some point in her/his educational career should view this film--or one like it--as part of civic, philosophical, and artistic analysis.This film raises important questions about an individual's responsibilities to self and the collective; the nature of knowledge; and the role of creativity, symbolism, and the manner in which humans construct and process visual and verbal communication.

[stepno]

Wonderfully dark film... I love the little touches like "embroidering" the truth, lighting matches with the touch of a typewriter key, the belt-and-suspenders cautious editor, and the “I know newspapers backward, forward and sideways. I can write ‘em, edit ‘em, print ‘em, wrap ‘em and sell ‘em…" speech.

[kingcaesar5]

Quote Henry Fonda in Once upon a time in the west, "how can i trust a man who wears belt and suspends, man can't even trust his own pants"

[deliman]

as a young person, i must admit i sometimes don't see what is so great about "classic" films....this film, however, blew me away...fantastic.