Ace in the hole movie analysis

He gets a job with a small new mexico newspaper and is impatiently waiting for his big break. However, he is forced to face the idiosyncratic inhabitants of woolybucket and to questions his own notions of loyalty and home. The title on the viewed print, however, was ace in the hole. Aug 12, 2007 today, it is hard to imagine some segments of the press not recognizing their hunger for sensation. Billy wilder directed the film starring kirk douglas, jan sterling, and robert arthur. Definition of ace in the hole in the idioms dictionary. With kirk douglas, jan sterling, robert arthur, porter hall. The film is full of scathing dialogue and character interactions that constitute the stuff of noir, but are delivered by nonnoir characters in nonnoir settings. Also released as the big carnival, ace in the hole was a major boxoffice disappointment upon its original release in 1951, even though it was sandwiched between two of wilders biggest hits, sunset boulevard and stalag 17.

Refers to an ace card which was dealt face down and is being held by a player in hopes she will win the hand when they play their ace card. Winding up in new mexico, tatum gets work from the local newspaper, but finds that theres not much in the way of pressing news. The title of ace in the hole is a double entendre, referring to aces problems parallel parking he calls the parking space as a hole as well as his difficult position in lifehe has just been fired. As always you can subscribe to the show on itunes or follow the links to social media in the podcast show notes. Not a pair in sight and everyone thought each man had an ace in the hole. Billy wilders ace in the hole is one of the most scathing indictments of american culture ever produced by a hollywood filmmaker. Coxs wonderful moviedrome series, and was highly impressed. Or how about holes in some of the characters lives theres a great big hole in zeros heart where his mother used to be.

A frustrated former bigcity journalist now stuck working for an albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rekindle his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an outofcontrol circus. Ace in the hole is the fifth animated cartoon short subject in the woody woodpecker series. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on youtube. Ace in the hole official trailer inspired by the reallife floyd collins cave in disaster of the 1920s, ace in the hole is a searing example of writerdirector billy wilder at his most. That old ace in the hole by annie proulx scribners publishing 2002 literary fiction synopsis. Oct 07, 2019 the ace in the hole billboard could be a reference to heaths joker calling harvey dent his ace in the hole. Aces in the holes binions holds the world championship of poker, but jim holliday brings you the easiest aces this side of paradise at the worlds richest poker tournament. Like willy wonka and the chocolate factory, it has fearsome depths and secrets. With flaws that outweigh his talent, reporter chuck tatum kirk douglas has bounced across the country from job to job. In my perspective, the theme of this film is human interest, a phrase that is referred to more than once by the main protagonist. Rough, tough chuck tatum, who battered his way to the top. That old ace in the hole book by annie proulx official. Robust, often bawdy, strikingly original, that old ace in the hole traces the waves of change that have shaped the american west over the past century and in bob dollar, proulx has created one of the most irrepressible characters in contemporary fiction. Many critics cite ace in the hole as the inspiration for director costa gravas 1997 warner bros.

Also released as the big carnival, ace in the hole was a major boxoffice disappointment upon its original release in 1951, even though it was sandwiched between two of wilders biggest hits. The slang word phrase acronym ace in the hole means. Chuck tatum kirk douglas is a fiercely ambitious, selfcentered, newly sober reporter whose career has fallen into notoriety. Woody woodpecker is a stable boy who longs to fly a plane.

Ace in the hole 1minute scene analysis of nonsignificant parts of the great movies. The company sends bob to a small town in the texas panhandle to sweettalk landowners out of their property so that it can be converted into hog farms. May 04, 2009 ace in the hole is undoubtedly the best, and unfortunately the most accurate, movie about the news biz. Billy wilder worked as a hardnosed newspaperman on tabloids in vienna and berlin during the 1920s and brought this experience to bear on ace in. Ace in the hole philip french on billy wilders masterly. In this film analysis, i am going to explain how symbolism and dialogue contribute to the ongoing theme of billy wilders acclaimed ace in the hole. The working title of this film was the human interest story. Read the full synopsis of ace in the hole, 1951, directed by billy wilder, with kirk douglas, jan sterling, bob arthur, at turner classic movies. Until he finally meets his match in an old mining shack in the desert. The latest instalment in annie proulxs mission to colonise the forgotten outposts of. Ace in the hole, also known as the big carnival, is a 1951 american film noir starring kirk douglas as a cynical, disgraced reporter who stops at nothing to try to regain a job on a major newspaper. The pungent plot of ace in the hole about excessive below the belt journalism was personified in its main character the stranded, stagnating, and downandout east coast newsreporter charles chuck tatum kirk douglas at the albuquerque sunbulletin in new mexico. The plot of proulxs latest novel revolves around bob dollar, a young man whose parents abandoned him with his uncle, who runs an antique shop with his strange buddy, where they are apparently building some sort of plastics museum. Something that is an ace in the hole is an advantage which you have over an opponent or.

Ive got murdoch on the brain, but i couldnt help thinking about the news of the world scandal while watching the sixtyyearold film noir ace in. Ace in the hole the big carnival 1951 rotten tomatoes. How is ace in the hole a noir film that breaks conventions. Based on the muchhonored young adults novel by louis sachar, it has been given the topshelf treatment. You can also go to to read notes, bios, and other random movie thoughts. This short begs the question, can a dirty soul ever truly be cleaned.

Charles tatum, a downonhisluck reporter, takes a job with a small new mexico newspaper. However, he is forced to face the idiosyncratic inhabitants of woolybucket and to questions his own notions of loyalty. With jesse steele, mike kennedy, gabe garcia, jim shallcross. Originally used only in the poker world, it now has a wider meaning to refer the strategy of deliberately holding a winning argument or resource until the most opportune moment. The big carnival a frustrated former bigcity journalist now stuck working for an albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rejump start his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an outofcontrol circus. After the films initial release as ace in the hole, paramount changed the title to the big carnival, the title under which the picture is frequently listed. Jun 07, 2014 billy wilder worked as a hardnosed newspaperman on tabloids in vienna and berlin during the 1920s and brought this experience to bear on ace in the hole. Kirk douglas plays a cynical reporter who capitalizes on a mine disaster in ace in the hole. Dive deep into john updikes ace in the hole with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Like many other animation and film studios in the 1940s, walter lantz productions through its iconic character, woody woodpecker, became part of the war effort. Before reading that old ace in the hole, one should read the first sentence.

The movie stars kirk douglas, an actor who could freeze the blood when he wanted to, in his most savage role. About halfway through annie proulxs that old ace in the hole, i realized that annie proulx has never met a piece of quirk she didnt like. Dec 28, 2002 that old ace in the hole by annie proulx 361pp, fourth estate. But bob dollar is determined to see his new job as hog site scout for global pork rind through to the end. The latest film to do so and explore one of its many infamous characters, is joker, dubbed one of 2019s greatest movie releases to date. Ace in the hole the 1951 movie, trailers, videos and more at yidio.

A desperate reporter played by kirk douglas stumbles onto a potentiallylucrative humaninterest story a man trapped in a remote cave and does all he can to exploit the situation to. In late march bob dollar, a young, curlyheaded man of twentyfive with the broad face of a cat, pale innocent eyes fringed with sooty lashes, drove east along texas state highway 15 in the panhandle, down from denver the day before, over the raton pass and through the dead volcano country of northeast new mexico to. According to a modern interview with producerdirector billy wilder, paramount head y. The only change i would make is to shorten the ending, and roll the credits as the father walks away across the barren landscape. Like marvel, dc is famous for hiding many secret nods, sneaky references and cryptic details within its movies.

Ace in the hole is a bleak, hardedged examination of society by an immigrant director who, despite his success, never became disillusioned by the american dream. Ace in the hole or the big carnival as it was called in the united states is one of billy wilders most bitinglyeffective satirical films. Ace in the hole 1951 might be kirks bestof album, though. The job is pretty boring until he finds a man trapped in an old indian dwelling. Ace in the hole the big carnival critics consensus. That old ace in the hole by annie proulx goodreads. Think about the holes in the story what exactly is going on with the curse, anyway.

A list of slang words and phrases, idioms, jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations. The dark and gritty tale had fans emitting crazy cackles and sinister smiles, especially when noticing some of its most awesome easter eggs. A bigcity newspaperman with a busted reputation, broke and stranded in albuquerque, new mexico, hopes to find his way back to the big time by sensationalizing the rescue of a man trapped in a cliff dwelling cave. Ace in the hole 1951 with flaws that outweigh his talent, reporter chuck tatum kirk douglas has bounced across the country from job to job. May 05, 2014 ace in the hole 1951 might be kirks bestof album, though. The internet adult film database is an online searchable database of over 490,038 adult movies titles and 200,604 porn performers. Jul 23, 2018 what matters here is the game of power and its means. The latest instalment in annie proulxs mission to colonise the forgotten outposts of rural america takes us to the texas. Welcome to todays show, ace in the hole 19510, my name is john. Yes, he made comedies and played heroes, but he could be merciless, his face curling into scorn and bitterness. Its the old west and the man known only as ace always clears the tables. Kirk douglas shines as tatum, delivering wilders cynical dialogue with a punch. Ace in the hole john updikes complete stories summary.

Ace in the hole is one of the more adult movies to come out of hollywood in the early 1950s, and is a typically highquality story from wilder at a time in his career when, retrospectively at least, he could do little wrong this movie was sandwiched between sunset blvd. The film costars jan sterling and features robert arthur and porter hall. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing ace in the hole near you. A desperate reporter played by kirk douglas stumbles onto a potentiallylucrative humaninterest story a man trapped in a remote cave. I chose this picture to analyze because it is thought by many movie experts to be one of the best american films. The moment when arthur dresses as a clown in a doctors outfit is a call back to heaths joker also wearing a nurses outfit. Submitted by walter rader editor from sacramento, ca, usa on sep 02 2009.

But the bulldog sergeant on the airfield stands in his way. Cowritten with screenwriters lesser samuels and walter newman, the caustic film presented a scathing attack on the sensationalizing and ruthless tabloid mass media, serving as. He was looking for a way to make money and boost his sour and drunken. Ace in the hole is a popular english idiom that stems from the game stud poker.

Ace in the hole,produced by walter lantz productions and distributed by universal pictures was released theatrically on june 22, 1942. An embroidered sign on the wall of the albuquerque sunbulletin reads, tell the truth. Ace in the hole is available at on dvd from the criterion collection. In addition to ace in the hole, collins has been the subject of books, articles and documentaries. He plays charles tatum, a skilled reporter with a drinking problem, who has been fired in 11 markets slander, adultery, boozing when his car breaks down in albuquerque and. Paramount pictures released ace in the hole to theaters on july 4, 1951. Released june 29th, 1951, ace in the hole stars kirk douglas, jan sterling, porter hall, robert arthur the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 52 min, and received a score of 72 out of 100 on. Ace in the hole 58 movie clip you like those rocks just as much. Apr 18, 2003 holes, which tells their story, is a movie so strange that it escapes entirely from the family genre and moves into fantasy. Ace in the hole philip french on billy wilders masterly newspaper. A frustrated former bigcity journalist now stuck working for an albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rekindle his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an. The term was used as the title of a 1951 film, starring kirk douglas. Washed up in the midwest, wiseass new york hack chuck tatum kirk douglas sees a chance to break back into the bigtime by milking the human interest story of a cavein victim, even when it means holding off a rescue attempt. The film costars jan sterling and features robert arthur and porter hall it marked a series of firsts for auteur billy wilder.

Ace in the hole may be wilders best film, and its ripe for rediscovery because its subject matter has never been more relevant. Ace in the hole taos unlimited movie locations of the. But for all its revelation of scene and character, ace in the hole is badly weakened by a poorly constructed plot, which depends for its strength upon. Spearheaded by an excellent kirk douglas, ace in the hole is an incisive and sardonic satire that, much like its opportunistic hero, never. The plot involved douglass character delaying a rescue in order to cash in on the notoriety of having exclusive reporting rights to the rescue attempt. A frustrated former bigcity journalist now stuck working for an albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rekindle his career, but. Frame by frame ace in the hole billy wilder 1951 youtube. Ace in the hole 1951 is directorcowriter billy wilders uncompromising, dark and harsh noirish commentary about human nature, and the unscrupulous and selfserving actions of compromised tabloidmedia journalists. Folks in the texas panhandle do not like hog farms. Kirk douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career as chuck tatum, an amoral newspaper reporter who washes up in deadend albuquerque, happens upon the scoop of a lifetime, and will do anything to keep getting the lurid headlines. This slang page is designed to explain what the meaning of ace in the hole is. Ace in the hole 1951 stream and watch online moviefone. Ace in the hole definition and meaning collins english.