ACE IN THE HOLE (Billy Wilder, 1951) R

Reviewed: September 5th, 2002

Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole is a scathing, cool-as-hell satire that -- in typical Wilder fashion -- hasn't aged in over fifty years (in fact, it's as relevant as ever). The film works on a tripod of levels: one, as an examination of media morality and the ends to which our media exploits disaster. Two, as an examination of the public's perverse appetite for disaster ("good news is no news"). And three, as a character study of a wise, manipulative, vile man who is probably closer to a lot of us than we'd like to believe (he places ego first and foremost-- who doesn't?). At the center of this juggling act is the dialogue (succinct, stylized, rough & tough; Wilder's scripts are incomparable) and Kirk Douglas's pungent, hyperbolic lead performance (the writer he plays is so fucking suave he lights his match with a typewriter). Ostensibly simple (the plot finds Douglas's larger-than-life reporter doomed to a palookaville paper; he eventually hits upon the human interest story of a lifetime) and ultimately humane, Ace in the Hole's blazing ferocity shames the weak satiric shit Hollywood's produced of late (think Simone). Originally suppressed by Paramount (hence the dual titling) and inexplicably still out of print on VHS/unavailable on DVD, I urge you to scour your most trusted independent renter for an old copy of this masterful diamond.

Return home.