Review #979: 'Ace in the Hole' (1951)

Billy Wilder - the American director whose body of work sailed as closely to perfection as one can get - reportedly referred to Ace in the Hole, a rare flop for Wilder, as "the runt of my cinematic litter." Dismissed by critics upon release for its cynical depiction of the tabloids and law enforcement, it has since been re-discovered and lavished with praise for foreshadowing a world in which we are bombarded with sensationalised news stories that are now never more than a thumb-swipe away. Kirk Douglas plays Chuck Tatum, a hard-drinking, troublemaking reporter exiled from New York to New Mexico, where he plans to recoup at a low-circulation local paper until he lands a story that will have his big-city former pals clawing at each other for his services.

After over a year without the big break he was counting on, Tatum bitterly takes to the road to cover a rattlesnake hunt. On route, he stumbles across a weeping woman while filling his car with gas and, when a police car whizzes by, quickly sniffs the air for something big. It turns that a local man called Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) has become trapped in a cave while looking for local Indian artefacts. Remembering W. Floyd Collins, who had the nation gripped while in a similar situation, Tatum seizes his chance and quickly sets up shop, convincing Minosa's unhappy wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling) to stay and play the weeping damsel for the cameras and microphones, and strikes a deal with corrupt local sheriff Kretzer (Ray Teal) to support his re-election bid

A more recent film to cover similar ground was Nighcrawler (2014), starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a more outwardly slimy reporter, manipulating events to his own benefit. The difference with Ace in the Hole is that Tatum does, by the end, discover a shred of humanity without losing his ferocity, as Leo's situation starts to look increasingly dire. Before his moral epiphany though, he shapes events with a Machiavellian wickedness, delaying the rescue and therefore allowing the story to garner national coverage, and using the strong-armed sheriff to shoo away any rival newspapers. It turns into a media circus, literally. Tatum stands on a mountain admiring what he has created while people flock to the scene in their hundreds and carnival rides are set up. A band even performs a song about Leo to the crowd and sells the recordings.

Partly down to Douglas's astonishingly acid-tongued and energetic performance and partly Lesser Samuels, Walter Newman and Wilder's ferocious script, Ace in the Hole rests easily on par with the likes of The Lost Weekend (1945) and Some Like it Hot (1959), although it falls short of Double Indemnity (1944) and Sunset Blvd. (1950). He didn't get much wrong in his career, but Wilder's evaluation of the film is certainly dumbfounding. Unrelenting in its foreboding of where journalism was in danger of heading, Ace in the Hole is gripping storytelling. Douglas stampedes through the scenery like a branded bull, and his characters increasingly desperate actions remain shocking even now, 65 years later.


Directed by: Billy Wilder
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Richard Benedict, Frank Cady, Ray Teal
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie

Review #155: 'Sabrina' (1954)

Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) is a beautiful and shy lower-class girl whose father (John Williams) works as a chauffeur for the rich Larrabee family. She watches the elegant and lavish parties from afar and is head-over-heels in love with playboy David (William Holden). Attempting to commit suicide, the more business-minded brother of David, Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart) intervenes and saves her. Her father decides to send her off to Paris on a cookery course where she arrives back re-invented, capturing the eye of David. Linus has set up the marriage between David and the daughter of a potential business partner, and so tries to sabotage their relationship while falling for Sabrina himself. And so begins a love triangle between two rich brothers and the girl they always ignored.

This is a familiar fairytale story of an 'ugly duckling' who is given the chance to show who she really is to the people that have failed to recognise her previously. How this film manages to tackle it from a seemingly fresh perspective speaks volumes about the sheer genius of director Billy Wilder, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest film-makers from the Golden Age of Hollywood. It achieves in equal measures an air of magic and sweetness of which can only be found in the 'golden oldies', with three truly great comedic performances from the lead trio.

Yes, it is wholly unbelievable that rich boys David and Linus would fail to recognise someone as astoundingly beautiful as Audrey Hepburn until she puts on some expensive earrings and a nice dress. But that is a minor quibble that one must expect from a romantic comedy. It is instead a film to sit back and enjoy. As strong as all three leads are, I felt this was Bogart's film. Most of my laughs came from his strange obsession with his company's newly designed plastic that he advertises to anyone who will listen. Having only seen him in hard-boiled noirs, it was nice to see him flexing his comedy muscles.

In an age where production companies shit out one soulless rom-com after the other that seem to serve no purpose other than to fill corporate pockets and earn some easy money for some B-list actor, it's reassuring to know that there was once a time when scriptwriters and directors alike would put genuine heart and talent onto screen and page, and create a romantic comedy that can be genuinely entertaining and truly heartfelt.

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, John Williams

Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie