Ace In The Hole

If you ever get a chance to see this movie, don't miss it! Kirk Douglas plays an out-of-work newspaper reporter from New York who takes a job with a small-town paper in New Mexico in hopes of rebuilding his career. Life is pretty slow in the West and Douglas becomes increasingly frustrated until a mine cave-in traps a local man under tons of rock. Instead of quickly rescuing the victim, Douglas persuades local authorities to delay their efforts until Douglas' news stories make headlines in the big city markets. The media circus quickly ensues and thousands of people take up residency around the disaster zone hoping to have some brush with history.

The story, based on a true story and co-written and directed by the great Billy Wilder, seems eerily prescient in its expose of modern media manipulations and hidden agendas in favor of corporate and individual greed. The satire is absolutely scathing, at once hilarious and brutal. There are no sympathetic characters in the drama, but the performances by Douglas as the cynical reporter and Jan Sterling as the victim's uncaring wife are outstanding. Ironically, Miss Sterling passed away on the very day I saw this film at a special screening in Hollywood.

Ace In The Hole has never been released on video or DVD and it very rarely shows on television. Hopefully this error will be quickly corrected. This is an excellent film that needs to be seen by everyone, now more than ever.