Ace in the Hole (1951)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

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 | Reporter | Rescue | Sheriff

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:

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 (1953) was a hit and Billy Wilder expected a share of the Stalag 17 (1953)'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 (1953).

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chicken Run (2000)

Soundtrack:

We're Coming, Leo

Media of 1951 acting like media of 2001

A powerful toasting of the media of the day. Imagine what this would have been like in the age of television. Kirk Douglas plays a self-centered heel, and does so very well. I also liked Jan Sterling as Lorraine. It's true that there is no really sympathetic character in this film, except maybe Leo, the man trapped in the cave. Someone wrote that he too, wasn't a sympathetic character, because he was trapped while collecting Indian artifacts for sale, but I don't think that would have bothered anyone in 1951. The tone of the film throughout was one of total cynicism, that seems a bit out of place for the times. Maybe that's why this movie was not a commercial success. It fits much better now, though, since everyone has seen the media behaving in such disgraceful fashion. However, that may rob it of some of its (probably intended) shock value. Grade: A