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.

---

Plot Keywords:

newspaper | trapped | rescue | reporter | cave | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

---

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

When the film was released, it got bad reviews and lost money. The studio, without Billy Wilder's permission, changed the title to "The Big Carnival" to increase the box office take of the film. It didn't work. On top of that, Billy Wilder's next picture Stalag 17 was a hit and Billy Wilder expected a share of the Stalag 17's profits. Paramount accountants told him that since this picture lost money, the money it lost would be subtracted from the profits of Stalag 17.

---

Goofs

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

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

Referenced in No Man's Land (2001)

---

Soundtracks

"The Hut-Sut Song"
(uncredited)
Written by Leo Killion, Ted McMichael and Jack Owens
Sung by Richard Benedict and Kirk Douglas

User Reviews

wow!

Saw this films years ago and it's still gripping.Mr.Wilder seldom did films that gripped the human condition like this one.After this movie flopped he stuck to screen adaptions of stage hits through most of the fifties.Both director and star,Kirk Douglas really delivered a stinging expose of media hype and manipulation of the newspaper business.Herein,burned out reporter Douglas chances on a man trapped in a cave and ruthlessly exploits it for his own gain.There's no softness here,even the leading lady (played wonderfully by Jan Sterling)is as hard as Douglas.The scenes of all the gawkers showing up,complete with carnival,are outright creepy.There's even a cheesy country western singer plunking a guitar and singing about poor Leo,(the trapped man.) The only sympathetic person is poor Leo's mom who continually prays for his release.Definitely a film for lovers of great movie drama.