Ace in the Hole (1951 film)
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''Ace in the Hole'', also known as ''The Big Carnival'', is a 1951 American film noir directed by
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...
. The film stars Kirk Douglas as a cynical, disgraced reporter who stops at nothing to try to regain a job on a major newspaper. The film co-stars
Jan Sterling Jan Sterling (born Jane Sterling Adriance; April 3, 1921 – March 26, 2004) was an American film, television and stage actress. At her most active in films during the 1950s (immediately prior to which she had joined the Actors Studio), Sterling ...
and features Robert Arthur and
Porter Hall Clifford Porter Hall (September 19, 1888 – October 6, 1953) was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Hall typically played villains or comedic incompetent characters. Early years Hall wa ...
. It marked a series of firsts for
auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...
: it was the first time he was involved in a project as a writer, producer, and director; his first film following his breakup with long-time writing partner
Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...
, with whom he had collaborated on '' The Lost Weekend'' and ''
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...
'', among others; and his first film to be a critical and commercial failure. The story is a biting examination of the seedy relationship between the press, the news it reports and the manner in which it reports it. The film also shows how a gullible public can be manipulated by the press. Without consulting Wilder, Paramount Pictures executive Y. Frank Freeman changed the title to ''The Big Carnival'' just prior to its release."Notes"
TCM.com
Early television broadcasts retained that title, but when aired by
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...
– and when released on
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by
The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...
in July 2007 – it reverted to ''Ace in the Hole''. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


Plot

Chuck Tatum is a newly sober reporter whose washed-up career in NYC leads him to head West, out of money and options. Tatum stops at the ''Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin'' and offers himself to the publisher, Boot, as a "$250-a-week newspaperman" he can have for $50. Skeptical, Boot hires Tatum. Tatum stays sober for a year. On assignment with the newspaper's young
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...
, Herbie Cook , they learn about Leo Minosa, a local man trapped in a collapsed
cliff dwelling In archaeology, cliff dwellings are dwellings formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, and sometimes with excavation or additions in the way of masonry. Two special types of cliff dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists: the cliff ...
. Tatum and Cook get close enough to talk to Leo to pass him food and drink. Cook photographs him as Tatum tries to cheer him up. Tatum senses an opportunity to manipulate the rescue effort for publicity. After filing an initial report on the accident, he persuades local sheriff, Kretzer, to give him exclusive access to Leo in return for reportage that will guarantee Kretzer's reelection. Construction contractor, Smollett, says it will take 12–16 hours to shore up the existing passages and get Minosa out, but Tatum and Kretzer convince him to drill from above, which will take a week and keep Tatum on newspaper front pages nationwide. Lorraine Minosa, Leo's wife, is eager to leave Leo and their struggling restaurant, but as tourists flock to the rescue site, the financial windfall leads her to go along with Tatum's scheme. Cook loses his idealism as he dreams of selling pictures to '' Look'' or ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
''. Tatum and Cook quit the ''Sun-Bulletin'' and Tatum talks a New York editor into hiring him to report exclusively from the scene for $1,000 a day and his old job back. As the days pass, the rescue site becomes an all-day carnival with rides, games, and songs about Leo. Tatum starts drinking again and hooks up with Lorraine. Five days into the event, Leo develops pneumonia and is given 12 hours to live. Tatum sends a news flash: Leo will be rescued win 12 hours, but when he tells Smollett to stop drilling and shore up the walls, he learns that the vibration from drilling makes this impossible. Tatum fights with Lorraine and she stabs him with a pair of scissors. Mortally injured, Tatum takes the local priest to Leo to administer the Last Rites and Tatum orders the crew to stop drilling. He tells the crowd that Leo died and to pack up and leave. As the carnival and crowd pack up and move out en masse, Lorraine among them. Fired by his New York editor, and slowly dying from the stab wound, Tatum calls him and tries to confess to killing Leo by delaying the rescue, but the editor hangs up on him without hearing his confession.


Cast

* Kirk Douglas as Chuck Tatum *
Jan Sterling Jan Sterling (born Jane Sterling Adriance; April 3, 1921 – March 26, 2004) was an American film, television and stage actress. At her most active in films during the 1950s (immediately prior to which she had joined the Actors Studio), Sterling ...
as Lorraine Minosa * Robert Arthur as Herbie Cook *
Porter Hall Clifford Porter Hall (September 19, 1888 – October 6, 1953) was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s. Hall typically played villains or comedic incompetent characters. Early years Hall wa ...
as Jacob Q. Boot, editor, publisher, and owner of the ''Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin'' * Frank Cady as Mr. Federber, a tourist *
Richard Benedict Richard "Pepe" Benedict (born Riccardo Benedetto, January 8, 1920 – April 25, 1984) was an Italian-American television and film actor and director. He was born in Palermo, Italy. He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies from ...
as Leo Minosa *
Ray Teal Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor.The book ''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory'' gives Teal's birth date as January 12, 1908. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the televis ...
as Sheriff Kretzer * Lewis Martin as McCardle * John Berkes as Papa Minosa * Frances Dominguez as Mama Minosa *
Gene Evans Eugene Barton Evans (July 11, 1922 – April 1, 1998) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television series, television films, and feature films between 1947 and 1989. Background Evans was born in Holbrook, Arizona and raised i ...
as Deputy Sheriff *
Frank Jaquet Frank Garnier Jaquet (March 16, 1885 – May 11, 1958) was an American actor known for playing supporting roles with his career extended from 1934 to the mid-1950s. Biography In 1925, Jaquet was part of the Summer stock cast at the Elitch ...
as Sam Smollett * Harry Harvey Sr. as Dr. Hilton * Bob Bumpas as radio announcer *
Richard Gaines Richard Houston Gaines (July 23, 1904 – July 20, 1975) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 film and television productions between 1940 and 1962. Early years Gaines was born in Indian Territory and grew up in Texas, learning "to h ...
as Nagel * Bert Moorhouse as Josh Morgan ''(uncredited)''


Production


Development

The film's plot has similarities with two real-life events that ended in tragedy. The first involved W. Floyd Collins, who in 1925 was trapped inside Sand Cave, Kentucky, following a landslide. A
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
newspaper, the ''
Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Net ...
'', jumped on the story by dispatching reporter William Burke Miller to the scene. Miller's enterprising coverage turned the tragic episode into a national event and earned the writer a Pulitzer Prize. Collins's name is cited in the film as an example of a cave-in victim who becomes a media sensation. The second event took place in April 1949. Three-year-old
Kathy Fiscus Kathryn Anne Fiscus (August 21, 1945 – April 8, 1949) was a three-year-old girl who died after falling into a well in San Marino, California. The attempted rescue, broadcast live on KTLA, was a landmark event in American television history. Bi ...
of
San Marino, California San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househo ...
, fell into an abandoned well and, during a rescue operation that lasted several days, thousands of people arrived to watch the action unfold. In both cases, the victims died before they were rescued. After the film's release screenwriter Victor Desny sued Wilder for plagiarism because he had contacted Wilder's secretary Rosella Stewart to propose a film based on the story of Floyd Collins in November 1949. Wilder's attorneys responded that not only did an oral plot summary not constitute a formal story submission but the Collins case was historical in nature and as such was not protected by copyright laws. In December 1953, Judge Stanley Mosk ruled in favor of Wilder and Paramount. Desny appealed and in August 1956 the
California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...
ruled his oral submission had been legitimate. Wilder's attorneys settled that same month, paying Desny $14,350 ().


Writing

In the original script, Tatum colluded with the local sheriff.
Joseph Breen Joseph Ignatius Breen (October 14, 1888 – December 5, 1965) was an American film censor with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America who applied the Hays Code to film production.Staff report (December 8, 1965). Joseph I ...
of the
Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
office strongly objected to the on-screen depiction of a corrupt law enforcement officer and insisted Wilder add dialogue making it clear the man eventually would be made to answer for his actions.


Filming

The final cost of the film was $1,821,052, of which $250,000 was paid to Wilder as writer, producer, and director. Its exterior set, (), which was constructed 19 miles west of Gallup, was the largest non-combat set ever constructed at the time. It measured high, wide, and deep and included an ancient cliff dwelling, collapsed cave, roadside stands, parking lots, and a carnival site. Underground scenes were filmed in a mock-up at the Paramount Studios on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. More than 1,000 extras and 400 cars were utilized in the crowd scenes. After the film was completed, Paramount charged admission to the set. Frank Cady's character identifies himself as a salesman for Pacific All-Risk Insurance, a fictitious company featured in Wilder's 1944 film '' Double Indemnity''.


Soundtrack

Jay Livingston and Ray Evans wrote the song "We're Coming, Leo," performed by a vocalist and band at the carnival.


Reception


Critical response

At the time of its release, critics found little to admire. In his review in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
called it "a masterly film" but added, "Mr. Wilder has let imagination so fully take command of his yarn that it presents not only a distortion of journalistic practice but something of a dramatic grotesque... tis badly weakened by a poorly constructed plot, which depends for its strength upon assumptions that are not only naïve but absurd. There isn't any denying that there are vicious newspaper men and that one might conceivably take advantage of a disaster for his own private gain. But to reckon that one could so tie up and maneuver a story of any size, while other reporters chew their fingers, is simply incredible." ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' called it "ruthless and cynical... a distorted study of corruption and mob psychology that... is nothing more than a brazen, uncalled-for slap in the face of two respected and frequently effective American institutions – democratic government and the free press." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' was more positive, noting "the performances are fine. Douglas enacts the heel reporter ably, giving it color to balance its unsympathetic character. Jan Sterling also is good in a role that has no softening touches, and Benedict's victim portrayal is first-rate. Billy Wilder's direction captures the feel of morbid expectancy that always comes out in the curious that flock to scenes of tragedy." The film has found new respect among critics. Roger Ebert of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' wrote in 2007, "Although the film is 56 years old, I found while watching it again that it still has all its power. It hasn't aged because Wilder and his co-writers, Walter Newman and Lesser Samuels, were so lean and mean ith their dialogue.. irk Douglas'focus and energy... is almost scary. There is nothing dated about isperformance. It's as right-now as a sharpened knife." Dave Kehr in the '' Chicago Reader'' called it "cold, lurid, and fascinating" and Nathan Lee of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...
'' wrote, "Here is, half a century out of the past, a movie so acidly ''au courant'' it stings." ''
Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' wrote, "As a diatribe against all that is worst in human nature, it has moments dipped in pure vitriol." ''
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'' called it "a searing example of writer-director Billy Wilder at his most brilliantly misanthropic" and adds, "An uncompromising portrait of human nature at its worst, the film... stands as one of the great American films of the 1950s." Ed Gonzalez of '' Slant Magazine'' wrote that the film "... allowed Wilder to question the very nature of human interest stories and the twisted relationship between the American media and its public. More than 50 years after the film's release, when magazines compete to come up with the cattiest buzz terms and giddily celebrate the demise of celebrity relationships for buffo bucks, ''Ace in the Hole'' feels more relevant than ever." In his '' Slate'' review,
Jack Shafer Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1957) is an American journalist who writes about media for ''Politico''. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column'' "''Press Box" for ''Slate'', an online magazine. B ...
wrote in 2007, "If film noir illustrates the crackup of the American dream... ''Ace in the Hole'' is an exemplar of the form." The film was included in film critic Roger Ebert's list of "
The Great Movies ''The Great Movies'' is the name of several publications, both online and in print, from the film critic Roger Ebert. The object was, as Ebert put it, to "make a tour of the landmarks of the first century of cinema." ''The Great Movies'' was pu ...
" in 2001. In September 2008, '' Empire Magazine'' published its list of the Top 500 greatest movies of all time. With votes from 10,000 readers of the magazine along with 500 key film critics and 150 film industry figures, this film is ranked number 385. In 2015, the film ranked 100th on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's "100 Greatest American Films" list, voted on by film critics from around the world. In 2022,
Eddie Muller Eddie Muller (born October 15, 1958) is an American writer based in San Francisco. He is known for writing books about movies, particularly film noir, and is the host of Noir Alley on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Early life and education Muller ...
, founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation, in a Facebook "Noir or Not" segment stated that ''Ace in the Hole'' incorrectly gets labeled as a film noir because of director Wilder's other films '' Double Indemnity'' and ''
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...
'', and because of the cynical storyline. Muller feels that ''Ace in the Hole'' is without many of the characteristics normally associated with film noir, and that it's more of a film about sleazy journalism.


Awards and nominations

Wins * National Board of Review Award: Best Actress – Jan Sterling; 1951. *
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
: International Award for Best Director – Billy Wilder; 1951. * Venice Film Festival: Best Music – Hugo Friedhofer; 1951. Nomination *
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Story and Screenplay – Billy Wilder, Lesser Samuels and Walter Newman; 1952. * Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion – Billy Wilder; 1951.


Legacy

The 1992 ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' episode " Radio Bart" largely references the storyline of ''Ace in the Hole'', featuring Bart Simpson lowering a portable radio into a well, and using a wireless microphone to broadcast his voice from it. He convinces the public that a boy named "Timmy O'Toole" had fallen into it, prompting news coverage and charity campaigns. Writer
Jon Vitti Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series ''The Simpsons''. He has also written for ''King of the Hill'', ''The Critic'' and ''The Office'', and has served as a screenwriter or consultant for several animate ...
noted that series creator
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
"came in out of nowhere and just gave me, start to finish, the whole story."


See also

*
Media circus Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event for which the level of media coverage—measured by such factors as the number of reporters at the scene and the amount of material broadcast or published—is perceived to ...


References

Notes Bibliography * Further reading * **Freely accessible essay by Richard Armstrong, who published a biography of Wilder in 2000. * **Maddin is a filmmaker; publication of this essay accompanied the 2007 DVD release of ''Ace in the Hole'' by The Criterion Collection.


External links

* * * * * *
''Ace in the Hole: Noir in Broad Daylight''
an essay by
Molly Haskell Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American feminist film critic and author. She contributed to ''The Village Voice''—fir ...
at the Criterion Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Ace In The Hole (Film) 1951 films 1951 drama films 1950s satirical films American drama films American satirical films 1950s English-language films American black-and-white films Film noir Films about journalists American films based on actual events Films directed by Billy Wilder Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films set in New Mexico Films shot in New Mexico Paramount Pictures films Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films with screenplays by Billy Wilder Films with screenplays by Lesser Samuels Films with screenplays by Walter Newman (screenwriter) United States National Film Registry films Criticism of journalism 1950s American films