#Ace in the Hole (1951)

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[letterboxd-loggd]

Ace in the Hole (1951) Billy Wilder

May 28th 2023

[oakendesk]

book cover - Ace In The Hole - 1951

Sam Cherry

[astonishinglysane]

Movies I’ve Watched - 2024

268/?: Ace in the Hole (1951) - watched 9/18/24

A movie beautiful to look at but cynical to its core. Not that the cynicism is unwarranted. It is an indictment not just of sensationalist media but the American people. It is no accident that Leo is trapped on sacred indigenous land — although more subtle, the movie is also critical of America’s treatment of indigenous tribes. This movie is only more relevant today with the rise of social media “journalists” panting after clicks, not to mention ideologically-driven pundits such as Alex Jones.

ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) dir. Billy Wilder

[jasonsutekh]

Ace in the Hole (A.k.a. The Big Carnival) (1951)

A reporter fired from the big time discovers a man stuck in a mine and leads the local sheriff into putting off rescue to build a big story.

 Ever present in the subtext of the film, as well as several very overt lines, is a criticism of authority figures including the press as their power to influence is clearly shown as a corruptible and self-serving institution. This criticism also extends to the system and country as a whole by seating the narrative in a Native American sacred place.

 Much of the movie gets heavy, not for intense drama or complicated storytelling, but because it’s consistently nihilistic and the parade of characters who are shown as bad or at least weak to their own selfishness leaves the audience with little to positively align with. Even the trapped character is a prospector, creating a constant reminder that his own greed lead him there.

 In some ways it works to have the story so entirely embrace bitterness as it reflects the desolation and lack of hope one can feel in a society with few redeemable people, however this doesn’t present a hope that any of it is worth saving, so in a way the plot itself is routing for death. There’s some complexity in the rescue operation and the character motivations so it doesn’t drag too much on the journey.

 The conclusion is easy to guess at from a very early stage. There are only two real outcomes, the trapped man is rescued or he dies. Considering the presentation of the characters, it becomes ever more clear which direction the narrative will go. It’s also very light on consequence by the end, the only punishment is by the characters’ own conscience and that in itself, after such a pessimistic psychological exploration reduces the realism.

 3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

 -An additional working title was “The Human Interest Story.”

-The film was criticised as “unrelentingly cynical” and lost the studio a fortune.

[rhera]

ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) dir. Billy Wilder

[citizenscreen]

Kirk Douglas gives director Billy Wilder a trim on set of ACE IN THE HOLE (1951).

[lifeinasmalltowninjapan]

BBC2 Moviedrome (1989)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

[whosthatknocking]

Ace in The Hole (1951), dir. Billy Wilder

[lindadarnell]

I was tagged by @slayerbuffy to share my favorite first watches of May 💖

Ace in the Hole (1951) Dir. Billy Wilder Perfect Days (2023) Dir. Wim Wenders Challengers (2024) Dir. Luca Guadagnino

tagging @anthonysperkins @hayaomiyazaki @henricavyll @normasshearer 💜

[skapediem]

was a tie on twitter so someone decide for me here should i watch ace in the hole (1951) or some like it hot (1959) im not making a poll because i dont respect them

[memetaped]

ace in the hole taken from the 1951 film.

it’s like somebody was driving crooked nails through my head.

you got to watch yourself.

don’t you know there’s a war on somewhere?

wrap yourself in this blanket.

suppose you stop beating around the bush.

now put it on your right side. underneath your arm.

you’ve got a medal, and i know how you got it.

do what the doctor tells you.

calms my nerves.

the sandwiches are in the blanket.

here’s your nickel back.

nobody dies of pneumonia these days.

i’m a pretty good liar.

give it to me straight.

don’t talk, please. just breathe.

now get the smile off your face.

a couple of hamburgers, please.

i’ve done a lot of lying in my time.

you don’t expect the kid to stand still.

i know��newspapers backward, forward and sideways.

look, they’re having a rosary at that little church this evening.

you can’t lie down here five days and five nights in the same position.

bad news sells best. because good news is no news.

now let me help you. i’ll take you to a doctor or a hospital.

you’re repeating yourself.

don’t try it by yourself.

and get some of this hot coffee inside of you.

don’t be so dumb, using up all your strength.

i brought you some chicken tacos.

you’re kidding. you don’t really wish for anything like that.

put that thing back on your mouth, and take a good long drag. you have to breathe that oxygen.

and another thing. don’t ever slap me again.

you wouldn’t be lying to me now, would you?

i brought you enough for a couple of days, some shirts and shorts.

you read it, but it doesn’t stay with you.

i’m thinking. don’t rush me.

that tin badge will do you no good.

this is my story. and i wanna keep it mine.

hey, there’s something screwy about this place.

but when you lie down here all by yourself, you get to thinking.

have you gone nuts?

what a suspicious nature you have.

bless me, father, for i have sinned.

guess i’m getting too old to crawl around in there.

taking your picture.

i didn’t even know you were alive this time last week, and now you’re my friend.

you know, things haven’t been so good between us. maybe this’ll make a difference.

looks like it’s your move, copper.

i’m in the boat. you’re in the water.

everybody’s upset about you.

a hospital back in (place) said i had a touch of TB.

brought you out here, fed you, nursed you.

i thought you went away.

got a couple of other names for it myself.

that’s enough outdoors for me.

i met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life.

[mydarlingbat]

Detective Comics #138 (August 1948): "The Invisible Crimes!"

Batman #52 (April-May 1949): "The Happy Victims!"

Batman #53 (June-July 1949): "A Hairpin, a Hoe, a Hacksaw, a Hole in the Ground!"

Detective Comics #149 (July 1949): "The Sound Effect Crimes!"

Batman #59 (June-July 1950): "The Batman of the Future!"

Batman #49 (October-November 1948): "Batman's Arabian Nights!"

Batman #57 (February-March 1950): "The Funny Man Crimes!"

Detective Comics #168 (February 1951): "The Man Behind The Red Hood"

World's Finest #48 (? 1950): "Song of Crime!"

Batman #55 (October-November 1949): "The Case of the 48 Jokers!"

Batman #67 (October-November 1951): "The Man Who Wrote the Joker's Jokes!"

Batman #63 (February-March 1951): "The Joker's Crime Costumes!"

Detective Comics #180 (February 1952): "The Joker's Millions!"

Batman #66 (August-September 1951): "The Joker's Comedy of Errors!"

World's Finest #59 (? 1952): "The Joker's Aces!"

Batman #73 (October-November 1952): "The Joker's Utility Belt!"

World's Finest #61 (November 1952): "The Crimes of Batman!"

Batman #80 (December 1953-January 1954): "The Joker's Movie Crimes!"

Detective Comics #193 (March 1953): "The Joker's Journal!"

Batman #74 (December 1952-January 1953): "The Crazy Crime Clown!"

Batman #85 (August 1954): "Batman - Clown of Crime!"

Batman #86 (September 1954): "The Joker's Winning Team!"

Batman #87 (October 1954): "The Batman's Greatest Thrills!"

Batman #97 (February 1956): "The Joker Announces Danger!"

World's Finest #88 (June 1957): "Superman and Batman's Greatest Foes!"

Batman #110 (September 1957): "Crime-of-the-Month Club!"

Batman #123 (April 1959): "The Joker's Practical Jokes!"

Batman #127 (October 1959): "Batman's Super-Partner!"

Batman #144 (December 1961): "The Man Who Played Batman!"

Batman #145 (February 1962): "The Son of the Joker!"

Batman #140 (June 1961): "The Ghost of the Joker!"

Batman #136 (December 1960): "The Challenge of the Joker!"

Batman #2 (Summer Issue 1940): "The Joker Meets The Cat-Woman"

Batman #1 (Spring Issue 1940): "The Joker", "The Joker Returns"

Detective Comics #45 (November 1940): "The Case of the Laughing Death"

Batman #4 (Winter Issue 1941): "The Case of the Joker's Crime Circus"

Batman #5 (Spring Issue 1941): "The Riddle of the Missing Card"

Detective Comics #60 (February 1942): "Case of the Costumed Clad Killers"

Batman #7 (October-November 1941): "The Winning Team!"

Batman #8 (December 1941-January 1942): "The Cross Country Crimes"

Batman #9 (February-March 1942): "The Case of the Lucky Law-Breakers"

Detective Comics #62 (April 1942): "Laugh, Town, Laugh!"

Batman #12 (August-September 1942): "The Wizard of Words!"

Detective Comics #64 (June 1942): "The Joker Walks the Last Mile"

Batman #11 (June-July 1942): "The Joker's Advertising Campaign"

Batman #13 (October-November 1942): "Comedy of Tears!"

Detective Comics #71 (January 1943): "A Crime a Day!"

Detective Comics #69 (November 1942): "The Harlequin's Hoax!"

Batman #16 (April-May 1943): "The Joker

Reforms!" Detective Comics #76 (June 1943): "Slay 'em with Flowers!"

Batman #19 (October-November 1943): "The Case of the Timid Lion!"

Batman #20 (December 1943-January 1944): "The Centuries of Crime!"

Detective Comics #85 (March 1944): "The Joker's Double"

Batman #23 (June-July 1944): "The Upside Down Crimes!"

Batman #25 (October-November 1944): "Knights of Knavery" Batman #28 (April-May 1945): "Shadow City!"

Detective Comics #91 (October 1944): "The Case of the Practical Joker"

Detective Comics #102 (August 1945): "The House That Was Held For Ransom"

World's Finest #19 (Fall Issue 1945): "The League for Larceny!"

Batman #32 (July-August 1945): "Rackety-Rax Racket!"

Detective Comics #114 (August 1946): "Acrostic of Crime!"

Detective Comics #109 (March 1945): "The House that Jokes Built"

Batman #37 (October-November 1946): "The Joker Follows Suit!"

Batman #46 (April-May 1948): "Guileful Greetings or The Joker Sends Regards!"

Detective Comics #124 (June 1947): "The Crime Parade"

Detective Comics #118 (December 1946): "The Royal Flush Crimes!"

Batman #40 (April-May 1947): "The 13 Club!"

Detective Comics #137 (July 1948): "The Rebus 

Detective Comics #128 (October 1947): "Crimes in Reverse!"

Batman #44 (December 1947-January 1948): "Gamble with Doom!"

Batman #145 (February 1962): "The Son of the Joker!"

Batman Annual #3 (Summer 1962): "The Joker's Aces" (Reprint from World's Finest #59)

Batman #140 (June 1961): "The Ghost of the Joker!"

World's Finest #129 (November 1962): "Joker-Luthor, Incorporated!"

Batman #148 (June 1962): "The Joker's Greatest Triumph!"

Batman #144 (December 1961): "The Man Who Played Batman!"

Batman #152 (December 1962): "The False-Face Society!"

Batman #159 (November 1963): "The Great Clayface-Joker Feud!"

Detective Comics #332 (October 1964): "The Joker's Last Laugh!"

Detective Comics #341 (July 1965): "The Joker's Comedy Capers!"

Justice League of America #34 (March 1965): "Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny"

Batman #163 (May 1964): "The Joker Jury!"

Batman #182 (August 1966): "The Joker Batman" (Reprint from Batman #85)

World's Finest #156 (March 1966): "The F.B.I... The Federation of Bizarro Idiots!"

World's Finest #159 (August 1966): "The Cape and Cowl Crooks"

The Brave and the Bold (October-November 1966): "Alias the Bat-Hulk"

Batman #185 (November 1966): "80 Pg. Giant - G27"

Batman #186 (November 1966): "The Joker's Original Robberies!"

Batman #176 (December 1965): "The Joker's Utility Belt" (Reprint from Batman #73)

The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #97 (November-December 1966): "Batman Meets Jerry"

Batman #187 (December 1966): "Gotham's Cleverest Criminal" (Newspaper Strip Rperint)

Batman #198 (February 1968): "The Crimes of Batman!" (Reprint from World's Finest #61)

World's Finest #166 (May 1967): "The Danger of the Deadly Duo!"

Detective Comics #365 (July 1967): "The House The Joker Built"

World's Finest #177 (August 1968): "Duel of the Crime Kings!"

Detective Comics #388 (June 1969): Batman and Batgirl: "The First Men Killed on the Moon!"

Batman #213 (July-August 1969): "The Man Behind the Red Hood!" (Reprint from Detective Comics #186)

Justice League of America #77 (December 1969): "Snapper Carr -- Super-Traitor!"

Wanted: The World'd Most Dangerous Criminals (September-October 1972): "Knights of Knavery" (Reprint from Batman #25)

DC Special #8: Wanted (September 1970): "Joker-Luthor, Incorporated" (Reprint from World'd Finest #129)

Batman #251 (September 1973): "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge"

The Brave And The Bold #111 (Feb/March 1974): "Death Has The Last Laugh"

Limited Collector's Edition #C-25 (Batman) (1974 - tabloid sized): "The Case o the Joker's Crime Circus" (Reprint from Batman #4)

The Brave and the Bold #118 (April 1975): "May the Best man Die"

Batman #257 (July-August 1974): "Rackety-Rax Racket!" (Reprint from Batman #32)

World's Finest #227 (January-February 1975): "The Cape and Cowl Crooks!" (Reprint from World's Finest #159)

Batman #260 (January-February 1975): "This One'll Kill You, Batman!"

[latenightcinephile]

Film #577: 'Ace in the Hole' / 'The Big Carnival', dir. Billy Wilder, 1951.

For the first half an hour of Ace in the Hole, the audience I was with at the Embassy Theatre were having a great time. Billy Wilder's script follows a washed-up journalist looking for the big story that will get him out of the small Albuquerque newsroom he's wound up in, and it's filled with the kind of crackling, acerbic one-liners that are familiar to fans of Wilder's work. Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) admits to his new editor that he's been fired three times: once for inciting a libel case, once for starting an affair with the editor's wife, and once for drinking on the job. His editor replies that he's a lawyer, so he's not concerned about libel, and that his wife is three times a grandmother - "if you wanted to start something with her, she'd be very flattered." For those that have seen other films of Wilder's, like Some Like It Hot (1959), Sunset Boulevard (1950) and The Apartment (1960), this sort of wisecracking is to be expected.

Chuck Tatum is one of Billy Wilder's antiheroes, driven in increasingly dangerous directions out of a sense of what they deserve. Tatum feels hard done by, practically owed a cushy office and a front-page byline, and he has a keen sense of what drives readership and increased newspaper circulation. On the way to another rattlesnake hunt, he stops off at a Native American cliff dwelling, now a neglected tourist attraction, and finds that Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict), the owner of the nearby gas station, has become trapped in the caves while looking for relics to sell. Tatum quickly realises that the situation has a strong resemblance to the (real-life) Floyd Collins incident from a few decades before, which occupied the American public's attention for weeks. In addition, Leo's predicament has a few other angles for good reporting: the possibility of a Native American curse, and the presence of Leo's attractive wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling). He rapidly decides to use this story to rebuild his reputation. First, he has to persuade the local sheriff to give him exclusive access to the scene, promising him coverage that will guarantee his re-election. Lorraine proves a little harder for Chuck to manage. From the first moment he meets her, it's clear that she's deeply unhappy with her life with Leo, and looking for an opportunity to escape. Chuck's magnetism makes Lorraine stick around, but Chuck insists she continue to play the role of the worry-sick wife, something she is vocally resistant to doing, especially as Chuck defies her advances.

Almost immediately, Chuck's approach to this life-or-death situation becomes reckless. Convinced that Leo is hardy enough to survive a few extra days in the cave, he insists that the rescue team drill down through the mountaintop rather than shoring up the existing passageways. He parades Lorraine and Leo's grieving parents before the cameras, denigrates anyone with experience who suggests the rescue might be conducted faster, and monopolises all the channels of information. Despite the high wages offered by the Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, he quits his job and uses his access to play the big-city newspapers off against each other. Suddenly, the tide turns - Leo falls ill with pneumonia, and Chuck tries desperately to reverse course, but it's too late. The drilling at Tatum's insistence has made it impossible to approach Leo's position safely in any other way. With his position of power slipping through his fingers, Chuck takes it out on Lorraine, aggressively forcing her into the role that will bring the newspaper stories to a satisfying conclusion. For his trouble, he gets a pair of scissors to the gut. Leo dies with the drill only feet away from him, and the carnival is over. Lorraine is left still trying to escape the life she has made for herself, Leo's parents are distraught on the trash-strewn plains, and Chuck, disillusioned, returns to the Sun-Bulletin offices to demand his job back, but dies while pitching his pay rate.

On its initial release, Ace in the Hole was not particularly appreciated - it was considered too bitter. The Hollywood Reporter called it a "brazen, uncalled-for slap in the face" to democracy and the free press. With the benefits of hindsight, though, it does feel like the real world has caught up to the depiction of the journalism industry. This is also partly because of the dialogue - the language throughout the script feels very contemporary, and wouldn't be out of place in any Netflix series about political corruption.

One thing that seemed to escape specific criticism, but which almost certainly influenced these early reviews, was that the film depicts corruption as contagious. The local newspaper's photographer, Herbie (Robert Arthur), doesn't seem to have a clue about anything outside Albuquerque, but rapidly falls into step with Tatum. Before long he has been encouraged to quit alongside Tatum, and it is only when things have truly turned south that he is able to pull himself out of the protagonist's orbit. It's unclear whether Lorraine is already corrupted - she's certainly jaded - but Tatum provides an opportunity for that to blossom.

What dooms Chuck, in the end, is his inability to take responsibility for anything. This is obvious from the very beginning: he's a risk for the Sun-Bulletin to hire, but he has the experience that the editor finds intriguing. Once Chuck feels that he's outgrown that paper, he ditches it, but tries to return as things fall apart. He's benevolent to Lorraine, until it becomes clear that Leo will die, at which point he forcibly pivots her towards the role of the grieving wife. He's dismissive of the feelings that she's developed for him, but keeps her on the hook until it's clear that he can't maintain that illusion any longer. He lies to the sheriff, to Leo, to Leo's parents - often switching stories in the middle of a scene, once he's out of earshot of the last person he spoke to. Anyone who suggests shoring up the passageways is steamrolled by the force of Tatum's charisma, until it becomes clear that that approach is necessary, at which point he becomes a full-throated advocate for it. "When you get people steamed up like this, don't ever make suckers out of them," he says, wilfully blind to the fact that he was the one doing the steaming. The last half-hour of the film becomes unbearably tense, as we watch Chuck kicking frantically against anything that might keep him above water, kicking so hard that everything breaks apart under his urgent force. Before long, he's on the phone to New York, turning himself into the story: "Listen to this: 'Reporter Keeps Man Buried for Six Days'!"

One of the things that I found interesting about this film, which sets it apart from many other films of this genre, is that there doesn't seem to be anyone that we unreservedly support. Normally we would be expected to pity Leo, and we do to some extent. Because we've already been shown how little his wife cares for him, though, he becomes a pathetic figure. He lacks the self-awareness required for him to be admirable: too easily taken advantage of, and too quick to believe that the fast-talking newspaperman has his best interests at heart. The only people who really seem to earn our respect and pity are those on the outskirts of the affair - the newspaper editor, who knows why Tatum is doing what he does, but doesn't want it to contaminate his publication, or Leo's parents, who are at the mercy of the whirlwind that has sprung up around them. It is humorous, at first, to see the carnival spring up, and to watch the entry fee increase every time we see the billboard in an establishing shot. By the end, though, Leo's father is left alone, abandoned both physically and morally by everyone around him. "I don't want their money," he plaintively tells Lorraine as she invites the amusement park rides in through the gate, "I just want Leo."

Is this a good film? Perhaps. The acting is never substandard, but often a bit overwrought. Chuck gets stabbed, and then wanders around until nightfall trying to tie his report up in a nice neat bundle, until the plot decrees that it's time for him to die. If you're looking for a film where you can't see the machinations, this isn't the one - it's too obvious; it replaces all its blood with vinegar far too early to be subtle about where it's going. At the end of the film, with the exception of Lorraine, every character regrets getting swept away. "Leo Minosa is dead," Chuck announces. "There's nothing anyone can do." A long shot follows him walking back to his car as, in the background, everyone immediately makes a move to leave. We see the embarrassment on their faces. I think the audience I was with felt the same way: the laughter was quickly gone, replaced by a stony silence as we all realised we had been taken in, too.

[maiathebee]

2023 Wrap Up pt. 1

Favorite Books Read in 2023:

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Rebound by Kwame Alexander

A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn

The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud

Favorite Movies Watched in 2023:

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) dir. Kwan, Scheinert

Past Lives (2023) dir. Celine Song

Ghost (1990) dir. Jerry Zucker

Join or Die (2023) dir. Rebecca and Pete Davis

Ace in the Hole (1951) dir. Billy Wilder

The Village (2004) dir. M. Night Shyamalan

Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig

As Long as We Both Shall Live (2023) dir. Ayuko Tsukahara

[doriangray1789]

Judas Priest - A Touch of Evil ve Noir: Sweet Smell of Success - filmi

Büyük Kısmı Gece Çekilen ve Az Bilinen, Nefis Bir Film Noir: Sweet Smell of Success - filmin büyük çoğunluğu gece çekilmiştir -ki ışığın giderek öldüğü bir filmdir filmin tantım konusu için şöyle bir not düşülmüş "jazz club'lardan ışıltılı caddelere, yarı gölgeli iç uzamlardan tekinsiz sokaklara; ışık-gölge sembolizmi ve aydınlatma tekniğiyle alman ekspresyonizminin görsel üslubuna bağlı kalan film, dönemin düşük aydınlatmalı öteki kara filmleri gibi dışavurumcudur. örneğin erotik-noir gilda'da (1946) somutlaşan ve insan profillerinin yarısının aydınlık diğer yarısının karanlık betimlendiği bu sıra dışı çalışmalar, film noir'ın arketiplerini bünyesinde barındıran güzide örneklerdir. alexander mackendrick'in en karamsar filmidir. zaten 40'lı ve izleyen 50'li yıllarda iyimser bir ruh halinin kara filmlere epey uzak olduğunu mimlemek durumundayız. ace in the hole (1951) ile birlikte gazetecilik ahlakına saldıran en önemli filmlerdendir. bu yanıyla sweet smell of success (başarının tatlı kokusu) aslında zeitgeist'ın değil, bütün zamanların filmidir.filmde ferah, lüks bir dairede yaşayan nüfuzlu gazeteci, tv şovu sunucusu j.j. hunsecker (burt lancaster), emrindeki köşe yazarı ajanı sidney falco’yu (tony curtis) savunmasız küçük insanları ezmek için görevlendirir. iftirayla örülü, çıkar ilişkileri ve şantajdan kurulu, kirli hesapların dünyasında köşe yazarlarının yozlaşmışlığı, seks düşkünlüğü, ahlaksız kirli polislerin nüfuzlu kişilerin emrine girdikleri kasvetli, karanlık bir atmosfer büyüteç altına alınır. Sidney Falco'nun polisten dayak yediği sahne o döneme dek çekilmiş kara filmler arasında, lady in the lake (1947) ve touch of evil (1958) ile birlikte birkaç örnekten birini teşkil eder. bu döneme yani 50'li yıllara dek polisler genelde idealist tiplemeler olarak çiziliyorlardı." Judas Priest'in "A Touch of Evil" şarkısı, bir adamın ayartma ve arzuyla mücadelesini konu alır. Şarkının sözleri anlatıcının dikkatini çeken baştan çıkarıcı bir gücü tarif eder ve "kötülük" kelimesinin yerel yorumu ayartmaya bir göndermedir. Anlatıcı, gücünden korkmasına rağmen kötülüğün gizemli gücüne doğru çekilmektedir. Bu canlı imgeler aracılığıyla şarkı, insanın içsel bir anlayışa ulaşmak için ayartmalarla yüz yüze gelmesi gerektiğini ve onlara direnemeyeceğini veya onlardan kaçınamayacağını öne sürer. Nakarat, ne kadar direnmeye çalışırsak çalışalım, nihayetinde bu "kötülüğün dokunuşunun" getirdiği arzuya teslim olmamız gerektiğini hatırlatır.