Ace in the Hole

Having seen the Billy Wilder classic Some Like it Hot, I thought I’d direct your attention to another of his great comedies: Ace in the Hole. Though not as acclaimed or well known as other classic Wilder comedies like Some Like it Hot or The Apartment, Ace in the Hole is nevertheless a brilliant, entertaining comedy, and for those who like satire, you won’t find it more biting that this.



The plot concerns a reporter, Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas), who is stuck in the dead town of Albequerque when he happens upon a fantastic story – a man trapped in a cave. Knowing he can exploit this for his own personal gain, Tatum arranges the rescue to prolong the amount of time the man is trapped, and all the while he’s the only man he allows into the cave to talk to the man, allowing for over a week of exclusives from inside the cave, while the story starts to draw more and more attention.

As with Network, which was still twenty-five years away, Ace in the Hole anticipates much of what we’ve come to accept as common practice in American media journalism, and it’s a frightening insight, but thanks to Wilder’s deft touch, it never ceases to be hilarious.

Ace in the Hole is available in a lovely Criterion Collection disc.