Ace in the Hole (1951)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (written by) &
Lesser Samuels (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 June 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper | Trapped | Rescue | Reporter | New Mexico

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Chuck Tatum
Jan Sterling	...	Lorraine Minosa
Robert Arthur	...	Herbie Cook (as Bob Arthur)
Porter Hall	...	Jacob Q. Boot
Frank Cady	...	Mr. 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
Richard Gaines	...	Nagel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oscar Belinda	...	Barker (uncredited)
Martin Bendleton	...	Barker (uncredited)
Timothy Carey	...	Man Removing Teletype Machine (uncredited)
Basil Chester	...	Indian (uncredited)
Ken Christy	...	Jessop (uncredited)
Stewart Kirk Clawson	...	Federber Boy (uncredited)
Iron Eyes Cody	...	Indian Copy Boy (uncredited)
Francisco Day	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Lester Dorr	...	Father Diego (uncredited)
Claire Du Brey	...	Spinster (uncredited)
Edith Evanson	...	Miss Deverich (uncredited)
William Fawcett	...	Sad-Faced Man (uncredited)
John Stuart Fulton	...	Boy (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	(uncredited)
Charles Griffin	...	Mr. Wendel (uncredited)
Larry Hogan	...	Television Announcer (uncredited)
Frank Keith	...	Fireman (uncredited)
Bob Kortman	...	Digger (uncredited)
Martha Maryman	...	Woman (uncredited)
Stanley McKay	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Joe J. Merrill	...	Digger (uncredited)
Paul D. Merrill	...	Federber Boy (uncredited)
Ralph Moody	...	Kusac, Miner (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Josh Morgan (uncredited)
Frank Andrew Parker	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Martin Pendleton	...	Bit Barker (uncredited)
William N. Peters	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Roy Regnier	...	Nagel, New York Editor (uncredited)
Jack Roberts	...	Newspaperman (uncredited)
Bill Sheehan	...	Man (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John 'Bub' Sweeney	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Billy Wilder		(written by) &
Lesser Samuels		(written by) &
Walter Newman		(written by)
Victor Desny		(story) uncredited

Produced by
William Schorr	....	associate producer
Billy Wilder	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
Charles Lang		(as Charles B. Lang Jr.)

Film Editing by
Arthur P. Schmidt		(as Arthur Schmidt)

Art Direction by
A. Earl Hedrick		(as Earl Hedrick)
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles C. Coleman	....	assistant director (as C.C. Coleman)

Sound Department
Gene Garvin	....	sound recordist
Harold Lewis	....	sound recordist
John Cope	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer

Editorial Department
Doane Harrison	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Ray Evans	....	composer: songs

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1965) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Big Carnival (USA) (new title)
The Human Interest Story (USA) (working title)
Reporter des Satans (Austria) (Switzerland: German title) (West Germany) [de]
Le gouffre aux chimères (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
A Montanha dos Sete Abutres (Brazil) [pt]
As atutowy (Poland) [pl]
As w potrzasku (Poland) [pl]
Bittere lauweren (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Cadenas de roca (Argentina) [es]
El gran carnaval (Spain) [es]
Forside-sensation! (Denmark) [da]
Ha-Carnival Ha-Gadol (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Inför tusen ögon (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
L'asso nella manica (Italy) [it]
Sensationen för dagen (Sweden) [sv]
To teleftaio atou (Greece) [el]
Tuhansien silmien edessä (Finland) [fi]
Wielki karnawal (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | UK:A (1951) | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Actor Victor Desny brought a lawsuit against this film while the script was being written. He claimed the film was an unauthorized version of the Floyd Collins story. Collins was actually stuck in a cave years earlier, as mentioned in the film. Since Desny owned the rights to the Collins story, he claimed copyright infringement. Desny prevailed, although Wilder appealed. The California Supreme Court ruled in Desny's favor. (Desny v. Wilder, 46 Cal. 2d 715, 299 (Cal. Sup. Ct. 1956).)

Goofs:

Factual errors: Rattlesnakes will not eat bubble gum, in or out of the wrapper.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Majestic (2001)

Soundtrack:

The Hut-Sut Song

A brilliant movie that lingers in the mind

Of the many movies I viewed in the early 50's, so many ,like now, were here today, forgotten tomorrow. However some movies that became memorable and that were able to make a dramatic impact on this young guy include, Duel in the Sun and Gone with the Wind. Strangely enough, Ace in the Hole is the most memorable of all movies viewed. It is one that invades the mind and leaves one sad.

Few films I remember as vividly as this dark movie, the images linger to haunt me still. 'Why?' one might ask 'would a sombre movie like this made over 50 years ago remain so memorable, when so many others have vanished. Was it the surreal inhumanity of the plot, the repugnant newsman devoid of ethics, the exploitation of the trapped victim, the purposeful prolonging of the victim's entrapment to create a media frenzy, the ultimate commercial creation of an 'event' style attraction complete with a circus like atmosphere surrounding the cave while the victim remained entrapped and close to death.'

Supposedly based on a real incident, it's a tough movie to watch and more so if one is prepared to accept the premise that such inhumanity displayed in the movie has an element of truth.

I echo the desires of others to have the availability of this movie on VHS or DVD. In the interim my memory will continue to keep the images intact. See it if you can.