Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole is a strikingly unique film noir from the master himself. All of Wilder's noirs play off the typical detective crime story in unexpected ways that have never since been copied. Here we have Kirk Douglas flawlessly depict the flawed Chuck Tatum, a big city newspaper man who finds himself in Albuquerque after being fired from just about every major newspaper in the US. After a year working for a small-town paper, he stumbles upon the biggest story of his career: a local man trapped in a cave. He becomes involved in the rescue operation, manipulating it to last longer than it needs to so he can keep the story going for as long as possible. Over the course of the movie, we gradually understand the power held by the media, public opinion, and capitalistic desires by seeing each and every one of them abused.
As a film, it holds up admirably well even by today's standards. The editing is fast-paced and lean. The story unfolds effortlessly and believably. The movie holds us in its grip until the shocking finale. The dialogue is violent and vicious, with unscrupulously brutal characters to match: the hateful wife who wants to run out on him while he's trapped, the sheriff who uses the incident to get re-elected, and of course Tatum himself. But it's not that simple. By the end of the movie, we realize with alarming clarity Tatum's multidimensionality, his humanity, and his feelings of responsibility and guilt. The delirious final shot is uncompromising, a perfect image to end the movie on.
And yet, for some reason, I just wasn't as captivated by this movie as I was by Wilder's others. I don't know what it was. I was unimpressed with the cinematography (except for that final shot) and dismissed the rather forgettable music. But still, something inarticulable just separated me from this movie. This is not a flaw of the film, but rather of myself as a viewer. All in all, however, this is an incredible movie and well worth seeing for anyone interested.IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0043338/