While it might seem quaint in comparison to today’s media landscape, Billy Wilder’s Ace In The Hole (1951; aka The Big Carnival) still bristles with cynicism. Kirk Douglas sinks his teeth (and chin cleft) into the role of Chuck Tatum, an alcoholic journalist stuck working in a small town newspaper in Albuquerque. When sent on an assignment to cover a rattlesnake festival, Douglas inadvertently stumbles onto another story: a poor dope named Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) is trapped in a deep cave, buried under rubble, while looking for indigenous artefacts. Rather than working out the best way to get the guy out, Douglas’ character orchestrates the accident into an on-going news event, using deals and corruption to be the only one with access to the story, all the while people start to flock to the site in droves to be a witness to the spectacle (all of which is based on two separate events that happened in the 20s and the 40s). With crackling dialogue and a film noir atmosphere even though it takes place in a sunny desert, this was an entertaining example of hard-boiled Hollywood. A flop on release, this is now considered a classic, and would make a good pairing with Wilder’s other noir tinged tale of exploitation and opportunism, Sunset Boulevard.
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