Ace in the Hole (1951)

A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to re-jump start his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels,

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Chuck Tatum
Jan Sterling	...	Lorraine Minosa
Robert Arthur	...	Herbie Cook (as Bob Arthur)
Porter Hall	...	Jacob Q. Boot
Frank Cady	...	Al Federber
Richard Benedict	...	Leo Minosa
Ray Teal	...	Sheriff Gus Kretzer
Lewis Martin	...	McCardle
John Berkes	...	Papa Minosa
Frances Dominguez	...	Mama Minosa
Gene Evans	...	Deputy Sheriff
Frank Jaquet	...	Sam Smollett
Harry Harvey	...	Dr. Hilton
Bob Bumpas	...	Radio Announcer
Geraldine Hall	...	Nellie Federber

Storyline

Charles Tatum, a down-on-his-luck reporter, takes a job with a small New Mexico newspaper. The job is pretty boring until he finds a man trapped in an old Indian dwelling. He jumps at the chance to make a name for himself by taking over and prolonging the rescue effort, and feeding stories to major newspapers. He creates a national media sensation and milks it for all it is worth - until things go terribly wrong.

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | trapped | rescue | reporter | cave | 

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

29 June 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Carnival

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,821,052 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The studio constructed a replica cliff dwelling at a cost of $30,000. The set was located behind the Lookout Point Trading Post on U.S. Route 66, west of Gallup, New Mexico. After filming was completed, the set was left intact and the owner of the trading post used it to draw tourists to his store.

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Goofs

When Tatum and Boot are talking in the Minosa's back room, the amount of alcohol Tatum pours in his glass changes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Charles Tatum: Hey. Pull up at the corner.

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Connections

Featured in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)

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Soundtracks

"We're Coming, Leo"
(uncredited)
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by unidentified vocalist and band

User Reviews

Billy Wilder should not call this powerful whiff of the journalism world "The runt" of his cinematic litter!

Billy Wilder's first commercial failure, but one of his best films, almost up there with "Sunset Blvd." Ambitious reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) finds out a man is trapped in a collapsed mine. By spewing out bogus engineering, he manages the rescue of the poor man to become more complicated, and time consuming then needed. Meanwhile, it becomes an amazing news item, something that makes Tatum the best known reporter in the country. However, everybody's luck runs out at the end. Perhaps the cause of failure of this film is that there are no sympathetic characters here. Douglas plays a total creep, the trapped man's wife is a floozy "I'm not going to pray for him! Praying ruins my nylons!" in the film. Even the trapped man is somebody who was poking around Indian graves. The screenplay, and the lead performances are top class. The extensive location photography, and somewhat documentary look of the film makes the film feel more modern than most 1951 films. Billy Wilder calls this film "the runt of his litter" Don't be so harsh, Billy, it's an excellent picture!