Charles 'Chuck' Tatum is trying to achieve a tremendous journalistic precedent as he works as an unnamed reporter deciding to use the event of the cave collapse in Mexico that attracts the world's attention. He is trying to get there in light of a real tragedy as the film reveals the dark side of the human soul to achieve success in any way.
Over 60 years later, Ace in the Hole has lost none of its sharpness. The only thing that's hard to believe about the movie is that Wilder and his co-screenwriters could have been this far ahead of the curve in their criticism of the media.
This 1951 film, about a cynical reporter who seizes on the plight of a man trapped in a mine shaft to promote his career, is cold, lurid, and fascinating, propelled by the same combination of moral outrage and sneaky admiration.
Billy Wilder followed up Sunset Boulevard with this biting tale which cast a skeptical eye on the media and feels just as apropos in our age of 24-hour news.
