What makes the film work is the song and singer of the theme song which plays thoughout the film. Amazing that he is not on the credits. His name was Bill Ramsey along with the band, Rythem Wranglers.
shareSpeaking of songs, what is the song the Kirk Douglas gets Richard Benedict to sing while he is trapped in the mine? I used to hear it when I was growing up but can't remember the band, title, words, etc??
shareAltogether now, "We're coming, we're coming Leooooo, Leo don't be sad. You maybe in the Devil's kitchen, but just keep your eyes a twitching...." :)
shareThe tune Tatum and Minosa sing is "The Hut Sut Song (A Swedish Serenade)" by L.V. Killion, J. Owens, & T. McMichael. It was a big hit for several artists in 1941 and '42.
shareAltogether now, "We're coming, we're coming Leooooo, Leo don't be sad. You maybe in the Devil's kitchen, but just keep your eyes a twitching...."
The trivia section for this film says the lyrics go: "Vocalist: [singing] We're coming, we're coming Leo/Oh Leo don't despair/While you are in the cave-in hopin'/We are up above you gropin'/And we soon will make an openin' Leo./We're closer, we're closer Leo/And soon you'll breathe fresh air/While you are in the devil's prison/Keep the spark of life a fizzin'/We'll soon have you out of prison, Leo./Oh Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo."
"All necessary truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Could the OP really have been serious when he said that this rather silly and unimportant song is "what makes the film work"? That's probably the most bizarre and frankly ridiculous comment on this superb film I've ever read.
shareCould the OP really have been serious when he said that this rather silly and unimportant song is "what makes the film work"?
He may be kidding, but it's one of the first memories of this movie that come to mind whenever I think of it. I have no explanation why. I actually used to sing this song while I was working years ago! I think the song is a great little satire on America's quickness at adapting events to popular culture.
"All necessary truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Actually, in re-reading my previous comments I think I was being unduly harsh. (Must've been having a bad day!) The song is catchy and while it's not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this film, it is in its way memorable. I think your analysis of its satirical overtones is exactly right -- it's actually pretty grotesque, when you think of it, and reflects badly on both the musicians and those unfeeling sightseers. The sight of Mr. Ferderber and the rest of the gawking idiots eagerly buying up the sheet music to this quick-buck trifle is one of the most telling comments on the vulgarity of the public.
But the OP's comment that this incidental song is what makes the film work is preposterously absurd!
Another reason why I like this song may be because I saw something like it years before I saw the film. In 1967, I was living within about a hundred miles of Point Pleasant, West Virginia when the Silver Bridge collapsed into the river. Within a couple of days, we saw in the newspaper where a preacher had just produced a 45 rpm of a song he wrote about the disaster.
I think I heard it once and was not impressed. I tried to find it today online but did find a couple of songs about the disaster.
I know it's easy to dismiss these as crass attempts to cash in on a tragedy, but the writing or songs to commemorate such catastrophes actually goes back eons in human history.
Anyway, when I heard the song in Ace in the Hole, I immediately remembered the Silver Bridge record and knew the movie was actually including a detail that a real-life disaster would inspire.
All necessary truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
You're right, such a response has been natural for human beings going back millennia, but the commercialism we see in AITH as well as in similar real-life incidents has added a crass new dimension that speaks poorly of all concerned.
And here again, Billy Wilder knew whereof he spoke! Probably another reason the film was a flop. People didn't like looking at themselves.
Thank You
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