Ace in the Hole
d. Billy Wilder, 1951
Wilder's Ace in the Hole is about as cynical as movies get. If you think Wilder's other works like Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity were tough, then this film will no doubt move you with its raw power. It tells the story of a down and out reporter, Charles Tatum, (brilliant played by a pre-Paths of Glory Kirk Douglas) who can't get any more work; he stumbles onto a small town paper and announces that he will work for cheap, he's waiting for a big story to get him back in the big leagues.
A year goes by and nothing comes along; the exciting story that starts off his second year is a coverage of a rattlesnake hunt a couple of towns away. As he drives there (along with a young assistant), the owner of a gas station tells him that her husband was just in a cave-in and has been for about six hours. Thinking there's a better story there, he decides to stop there and find out as much as he can.
From then on, Ace in the Hole is a showcase of Tatum's manipulation. He turns one man's grief into his way to get out of the small town paper. Throughout the film, he does everything he can to extend the story, even if it means putting poor Leo in danger. When the man in charge of getting him out tells Tatum that it can take 16 hours to do it the standard way, Tatum suggests an alternative that would take 5-6 days. He also makes deals with the man's wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling), who doesn't love Leo anymore and is looking for a way to leave him; and with the corrupy sheriff who wants to come out as a hero so he could get re-elected, all he has to do is make sure no other reporters can cash in on Tatum's story.
Ace in the Hole is Billy Wilder's most uncompromising and brilliant film; it's the most potent observation on our media-driven culture that I've seen, and it was made more than 50 years ago. I imagine people who take film seriously will be praising this film 50 years from now.
