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Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady ... see more see more... , Richard Benedict , Ray Teal , Lewis Martin , John Berkes , Frances Dominguez , Gene Evans , Frank Jaquet , Geraldine Hall , Richard Gaines , Bob Bumps , Ken Christy , Iron Eyes Cody , Lester Dorr , Claire Du Brey , Edith Evanson , William Fawcett , Harry Harvey , Larry Hogan , Bob Kortman , Ralph Moody , Bert Moorhouse , Billy Sheehan , Jack Roberts , Bert Stevens

Billy Winder directed and co-wrote this bitterly satiric comedy-drama which turns a jaundiced eye towards both the news media and its consumers. Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a talented but short-temp... read more read more...ered reporter whose fondness for booze and unwillingness to bow to authority has cost him jobs at some of America's most prestigious newspapers. When Tatum's car breaks down in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tatum persuades the editor of the local paper (Porter Hall) to give him a job until he can make enough to get his jalopy running and find a story that will put him back in the good graces of the Big City journals. After a year in Albuquerque, Tatum begins to wonder if a big scoop will ever cross his path, but when he's sent to Los Barios to cover the annual rattlesnake hunt, he lucks into a great human interest story -- Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict), who runs a local diner, motel and curio emporium, is caught in an abandoned mine shaft after a rockslide, which some superstitious locals attribute to an Indian curse. Tatum writes up the story with all the flourish he can muster, and portrays Leo's wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling) as a devoted spouse fearful for her husband's life, even though she can barely stand Leo and is planning to leave him. Tatum's story is picked up by the wire services and he makes friends with local sheriff Kretzer (Ray Teal) to insure he has an inside line on updates on Leo's rescue. When Tatum learns that Leo can be freed in a mere twelve hours, he persuades Kretzer and his men to adopt another rescue method that will take several days, which will generate more copy for Tatum, more press attention for Ketzer's re-election campaign, and more business for Lorraine's diner. Soon Los Barios is the biggest tourist attraction in the state, but as the media circus mounts, Leo begins to fall seriously ill. Also released as The Big Carnival, Ace In The Hole was a major box-office disappointment upon its original release in 1951, even though it was sandwiched between two of Wilder's biggest hits, Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17. Despite never being released in home video until 2007, Ace In The Hole's bitter tone earned it an enthusiastic cult following, and it's now regarded as one of Wilder's best films of the Fifties. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

92% liked it

5,135 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

22 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Release Date: October 19, 1951

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DVD Release Date: July 17, 2007

Stats: 498 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (498)

  • bbcfloridabound
    October 17, 2011
    bbcfloridabound
    A Criterion Collection Film, Spime Number #396. Its one of the best I've seen from the collection.. Kirk Douglas plays a excellent part and though filmed in 1951, it shows how people are today. Out for one thing the big green dollar. Worth the rent or the purchase, in one word e... read morexcellent. 5 Stars ( Revised 10-17-11)
  • kenstachnik
    March 25, 2011
    kenstachnik
    An amazing central performance by Douglas in probably his douche-baggiest role ever. Like most Billy Wilder fair it's totally watchable from beginning to end.
  • imrealgod
    February 22, 2011
    imrealgod
    I reckon with those who claim this to be one of the great classical movies of all time. It shows how low can certain people stoop just for the sake of fame, mostly followed by money.

    Having covered nothing interesting for almost a year, Charles Tatum begins to get bored by his j... read moreob as a reporter in a small town. But when he comes to know that a man is trapped in a cave, he decides to take full advantage of the situation. He even turns the Sheriff to his side by manipulation and telling him that we've got an ace in the hole. What could have been done in hours takes almost a week. Instead of adopting the simple way to get the man out, Charles suggests drilling from the top. The man trapped could have been rescued within less than a day, but Charles greed for getting exclusive rights to cover the story extends the rescue operation to a week. Others also try to exploit this situation as much as possible. People are more interested in the 'story' as against getting the man out alive ASAP. Even the trapped man's wife hardly cares for him. She even makes a pass at Charles, but Charles slaps her. This disappoints her and sadness is apparent by her appearance. Charles said that this was necessary since he's going to portray her as a dedicated wife and people would expect her to be mourning for the unfortunate event. Charles leaves his job when he's offered a good position in his pre-employed newspaper. He asks for a permanent position for providing the exclusive details of the story. But what follows wasn't anticipated by him.

    This movie was real fun and Kirk Douglas gives an outstanding performance. What happened in those times stay true even to this day. The media has its own share of pros and cons. Some people even invent events (as depicted in 'Shattered Glass' which was based on real events) that haven't actually occurred so as to retain or raise the profits by offering a spicy story to its readers/viewers. Their greed knows no bounds and they hardly have any conscience.

    I'd have given the movie 5/5 had they ended it in a different way. I've no problems with the tragic endings, but it ought to be done in an effective manner. So, except for this glitch towards the ending, the movie is an absolute entertainer, and is surely worth your time. Don't miss it.
  • ajv2688
    October 29, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is my favourite Kirk Douglas movie and my favourite Billy Wilder movie. The story is highly dramatic, suspenseful, and exciting. And the ending is so perfect, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this movie, it's one of my favourites.
  • ythelastman89
    July 22, 2010
    ythelastman89
    This is a good movie, there's no denying that. However, this has its fair share of flaws. Slow paced stories really don't suit Billy Wilder and this proves it. He tries to fit in as much meaningless talk and characters in this to have the desired feel of his other movies when thi... read mores should have been treated as a very minimalist character arc. Kirk Douglas does fine in his role and is the main reason you can still admire the whole movie.
  • bottcorecords1
    January 30, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    Written and directed by Billy Wilder ("Sunset Blvd"), "Ace in the Hole" tells the story of a big city newspaper reporter (Kirk Douglas) who, by fortune's chance is trapped at a small town newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He bides his time, waiting for a big story to break t... read morehat will push him back to the top of journalist's world, and garner him the pulitzer. He thinks his big chance has come when he stumbles upon a man who was trapped in a cave-in while looking for indian artifacts. Slowly, things get out of hand for the reporter, as the story becomes his all-consuming obsession, he loses sight of his own humanity. Let's get one thing straight: Douglas' character is rotten, through and through. It's unclear whether or not Wilder intended him to be redeemed at the end, because as he sees the error of his ways he begins to lash out at everyone but himself. It's even suggested (in a speech Douglas delivers from a mountaintop) that maybe the reporter isn't as much to blame for his actions as we, the public who demand such stories, are. He even blackmails a sheriff and then turns around and holds himself as morally superior to that sheriff, accusing him of being corrupt. Ace in the Hole is just an odd morality tale in that none of the characters are all that moral. Everyone is out for themselves and everyone is out for a quick buck. It's an ugly, seedy movie that none the less is brilliantly written.
  • flixsterman
    November 26, 2009
    flixsterman
    A stark, unflinching portrayal of rouge journalism and how one man's ambition can overtake and smother ethics and decency. A box office flop when it was released in 1951, this may well be Kirk Douglas at his absolute best.

    Director/Writer/Producer Billy Wilder sends ... read morehis main character, newspaper reporter Chuck Tatum (Douglas), down a hole, literally as well as figuratively, and presents a tale that is wonderful, brutal, dark and unapologetic. A must-see film.
  • jjnxn
    August 17, 2008
    jjnxn
    Gritty drama that has a sadly contemporary feeling given the news networks willingness to exploit tragedies and the public's complictity therein. Bleak but wothwhile.
  • tsigur
    December 9, 2007
    tsigur
    Kirk Douglas is great at playing an All American prick. Too bad he's to old for the George Bush bio pic that Brett Ratner is probably going to direct.
  • jennifxu
    August 10, 2007
    jennifxu
    What was once the cynical product of a cynical director has proven to be a frighteningly prophetic story.

View All Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Nathan Lee
January 9, 2007
Nathan Lee, Village Voice

A lurid pulp indictment of exploitation, opportunism, doctored intelligence, torture for profit, insatiable greed, and shady journalism. Full Review

Dave Kehr
September 9, 2002
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

This 1951 film, about a cynical reporter who seizes on the plight of a man trapped in a mine shaft to promote his career, is cold, lurid, and fascinating, propelled by the same combination of moral ou... Full Review

Bosley Crowther
September 9, 2002
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Ace in the Hole is badly weakened by a poorly constructed plot, which depends for its strength upon assumptions that are not only naive but absurd. Full Review

J. Hoberman
September 3, 2002
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

By no means a great -- or even a particularly good -- movie, but its sustained nastiness shows a stunning disregard for box-office niceties. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
August 28, 2009
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

A prophetic scald Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
October 7, 2008
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Billy Wilder's take on human selfishness and callousness makes for one of the most angry and cynical films ever made.

Tim Brayton
September 12, 2007
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Quite possibly the most Billy Wilder-ey of all Wilder's films. Full Review

Christopher Null
July 5, 2007
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Not only did Wilder pillory the media in Ace in the Hole, he made monkeys out of everyone. Look at you, he said, you eat this drivel with both hands. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 5, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Wilder's cynical film of fame-seeking journalists, corrupt politicians, media circus, and the masses' appetite for live tragedy (a man trapped in a cave)was ahead of its times. Full Review

February 9, 2006
Time Out New York

As a diatribe against all that is worst in human nature, it has moments dipped in pure vitriol. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Lorraine: [to Charles Tatum] I've met some hard boiled eggs in my time, but you... you're twenty minutes.
    • Lorraine: Kneeling bags my nylons.
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