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 rekindle 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 4 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:

media manipulation | newspaper | cave | new mexico | media circus | 

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Taglines:

Rough, tough Chuck Tatum, who battered his way to the top ... trampling everything in his path - men, women and morals !

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

When Tatum and Herbie walk out to their dust-covered car after all the people left, handprints from where Tatum leans on the car can be seen in the dust indicating that they shot the scene numerous times and decided to put one of the later takes in the movie.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Joker (2019)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The plot is based on real events

The movie very closely parallels the real events of January 30 to February 16, 1925 in terms of the general story line. There are some significant differences concerning the actions of the characters.

Floyd Collins, a cave explorer working alone (not a real good idea), was trapped in Sand Cave KY, near Mammoth Cave. He was not looking for treasure, but for a new cave suitable for commercializing to produce income in an economically depressed region...and this was before the Depression occurred.

He became trapped on the way out of the cave by a 27 lb. rock which rolled onto his leg in a narrow crawlway. The configuration was such that it could not be moved enough to get his foot past.

When he failed to return home, the family went searching and quickly found him only 150' inside the cave.

A huge rescue effort was mounted and a cub reporter, Skeets Miller, from Louisville KY showed up to cover the story. It became one of the three most widely broadcast events of the time. Besides the extensive newspaper coverage, the relatively new medium of commercial radio riveted listeners with hourly accounts. It quickly became the first media circus ever seen.

Because of the print and radio coverage people began flocking to the site. A carnival atmosphere did indeed spring up around the cave. The state police and National Guard were called out by the governor to control the chaos and the more than 20,000 onlookers. The similarity between the real event and the movie on this account are likely nearly identical.

As in the movie, a decision was made to drill a shaft and, also as in the movie, the rock was fairly unstable and prone to collapse from the pounding of the cable tool drilling rig. The longer the effort went on, the more unstable the cave passage became.

Unlike Kirk Douglas' character in the movie, Skeets Miller served a most honorable role. Due to his small build he became one of very few persons able, and eventually the only one willing, to enter in an attempt to deliver food and water to Collins. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting. Also unlike the movie, there was no manipulation of the event to delay the rescue, but there was considerable disagreement over how to best do it. Area coal miners made the initial attempts and the event concluded with the above-mentioned shaft.

Collins was presumed to have died 3 days before rescuers reached him. Because the conditions were so unstable, the body was left in the cave. The family was able to remove him about 80 days afterward for a proper burial. Later, his glass-topped casket was returned to the now-commercial cave as a tourist attraction. It was removed once again, and finally, in 1989.

In 1982, a definitive account of the event was published in the book 'Trapped!'. A most informative read.

In a take-off of the 'Free Tibet' bumper stickers, vehicles are occasionally seen with a 'Free Floyd Collins' sticker.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

4 July 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Human Interest Story

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,300,000

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