Spearheaded by an excellent Kirk Douglas, Ace in the Hole is an incisive and sardonic satire that, much like its opportunistic hero, never lets moral compunction get in the way of a good story. Read critic reviews
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Ace in the Hole videos
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - Below-the-Belt Journalism
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - We've Got an Ace in the Hole
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - Small Town Blues
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - Rattlesnake Hunt
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - Finding Leo
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - I Know Newspapers Backward, Forward and Sideways
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - A Big Human Interest Ending
Ace in the Hole: Official Clip - You Like Those Rocks Just as Much as I Do
Ace in the Hole Photos
Movie Info
With flaws that outweigh his talent, reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) has bounced across the country from job to job. Winding up in New Mexico, Tatum gets work from the local newspaper, but finds that there's not much in the way of pressing news. However, when Tatum catches wind of a treasure hunter (Richard Benedict) trapped in a mineshaft, he turns the story into a media sensation. Soon Tatum is using unscrupulous tactics to draw out the situation, an approach that comes back to haunt him.
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Genre: Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Billy Wilder
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Producer: Billy Wilder
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Writer: Walter Newman, Lesser Samuels, Billy Wilder
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Paramount Pictures
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Production Co: Paramount Pictures
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News & Interviews for Ace in the Hole
Critic Reviews for Ace in the Hole
Audience Reviews for Ace in the Hole
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A legendary filmmaker displaying the absolute best of his skills... an actor demonstrating the depths of his incredible acting abilities... and a topic, the responsibilities of the fourth estate, thoroughly chastized... that's what ACE IN THE HOLE is. A must for film lovers and American citizens.
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It's an overlooked, rarely mentioned film, but it's probably Billy Wilder's best, and darkest, satire. Kirk Douglas is outstanding. And the movie is more relevant today than ever. Find it. Watch it.
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Controversial at the time of its release, and considered a classic today, Ace in the Hole not only benefits from one of Kirk Douglas' best performances, nor from Billy Wilder's exceptional direction, both in terms of performances and visuals. Rather, Ace in the Hole rings so true today because its screenplay remains as relevant today as it did back in 1951. Its commentary on journalism, and the emphasis that we place on stories rather than individual human lives, is effectively unsettling. Furthermore, the amount of subtext that the film has on issues such as feminism, human intimacy, and greed are equally as powerful. Ace in the Hole lives up to its name. It is a timeless masterpiece that should be seen by everyone.
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A harsher indictment of modern culture might be impossible to find. Even the innocent in this film are bottom-feeding leeches who're no better than stopping traffic so that they can get a selfie of themselves at the scene of the accident. Douglas plays a guy not only aware of this but fully convinced that that's the way it should be. Billy Wilder had a axe to grind and he polishes that bad boy to a mirror sheen here. Not only a film but a humanities class as well.
kevin w Super Reviewer
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