Ace in the hole, No. 87 101 Great Films

1951
Ace in the hole
Directed by Billy Wilder
USA


“I met a lot of hard-boiled eggs in my life, but you – you’re twenty minutes.”
Chuck Tatum from Ace in the Hole



Sometimes I have a hard time recognizing a good film, if the characters in the film are bad, not just villain bad, but just plain bad I have a hard time judging the film,

A good example of this is Sideways, critics loved this film, and there was tons of positives, strong female characters, a really well told story, but I cannot get over the fact that the protagonist stole money from his mother, I cannot forgive this, and thus I think of this as a bad movie, I know it’s me more than the film but still  I can't  stand it,


Billy Wilder's grave marker

  but the difference between Sideways, and a film like Billy Wilder’s 1951 Ace in a hole, besides being a much better film, the ethics of the film are right out there for everyone watching to see, and everyone is indicted; everyone in the movie, and everyone in the audience. In fact, Wilder has fun with the audience as he cuts between the action and the spectators watching outside, which he of course includes us the viewer on the real outside.





     Wilder is making us(the viewer) as responsible for Leo being in the cave as the newspaper reporter Chuck Tatum( Kirk Douglas)

Ace in the Hole, which Paramount changed to the Big Carnival, hoping it would convene a crime drama to the public, not a disturbing account of an unscrupulous journalist.



Kirk Douglas & Robert Arthur

  Was not a success with the American public or critics, but after a decade went by the critics standed to understand the genius of Wilder, including Vincent Canby.
Vincent Canby does a much better job than I explaining Ace in the hole and Billy wilder:


Kirk Douglas & Jan Serling


“Wilder is often called cynical, mostly, I think, because his movies seldom offer us helpful hints to better lives. There are few people in his movies one could model one’s behavior on. He doesn’t deal in redeeming social values. Instead, he sees the demeaning ones.”



I’ve included in the video exhibit for Ace in the hole a wonderful clip from the bonus feature of the dvd.
It’s Spike Lee, another great director with a critical eye,
talkin about Ace in the hole.

Please watch his comments and go out and rent Ace in a hole, there may not be a more relevant movie about the state of our media that this 60 year old gem.

Ace in the hole vidoe exhibit




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDv2BLk_OEo