Friday Noir: Ace in the Hole

http://www.cutprintfilm.com/features/columns/friday-noir/friday-noir-ace-in-the-hole/

Billy Wilder, in his scathing 1951 social-noir Ace in Hole, takes the notion of the media circus and all the artificial hoopla that surrounds it to an embarrassing extreme. However, said embarrassment is not aimed at Wilder or anybody that worked on the picture. Nay, it concerns the aforementioned anti-social socialites that gather around a tragic event because that’s where the action is, that is where they can be seen and, if everything operates in their favour, give off the impression that they care about the victim’s ordeal. Certainly some genuinely do, but it is no secret that many do not, at least not really. The film stars the legendary Kirk Douglas as Chuck Tatum, a down on his luck newspaper writer who arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Once a prominent role player for the large Easter newspapers, Tatum, a man with no shortage of ego and personal problems, now scrapes by with whatever he can find. In this case, it’s a temporary spot as a reporter for the local newspaper, under the auspices of Jacob Q. Boot (Porter Hall).

http://www.cutprintfilm.com/features/columns/friday-noir/friday-noir-ace-in-the-hole/