Ace in the Hole (1951)

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When a man is trapped alive in a mine collapse, a self-interested reporter and the townspeople cynically create what we now call a "media circus". (imdb)

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Genre: Drama

AKA: The Big Carnival

Country: USA

Directed By: Billy Wilder

Written By: Billy Wilder, Walter Newman, Lesser Samuels, Victor Desny

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Lewis Martin, Gene Evans, Ray Teal, John Berkes, Frank Jaquet, Frances Dominguez

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Ace in the Hole belongs to 77 collections

1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (public: moderated by kozan26 - 191 stars)

2. Criterion Collection (public: moderated by caffe - 136 stars)

3. IMDB Top 250 (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 110 stars)

4. Roger Ebert: Great Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 71 stars)

5. Film Noir (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 48 stars)

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7. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Top 1000 Movies (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 34 stars)

8. They Shoot Pictures 250 Quintessential Noir Films (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 32 stars)

9. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)

10. Martin Scorsese's Film School: The 85 Films You Need to See to Know Anything About Film (public - 29 stars)

11. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (public: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)

12. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 24 stars)

13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 24 stars)

14. National Film Registry (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 22 stars)

15. IMDb Top 250 Complete (public: moderated by Jorg - 21 stars)

16. Black Comedy (public: moderated by Dorkovsky - 20 stars)

17. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray) (public: moderated by epiphany - 18 stars)

18. Academy Award - Oscar - ALL Best Picture, Directing, Acting & Screenplay Nominees (public - 17 stars)

19. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (public: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)

20. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (public: moderated by Cinephile - 15 stars)

21. Best of criticker: Top 250 (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 15 stars)

22. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)

23. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (public: moderated by dookobore - 13 stars)

24. Slant Magazine's 100 Essential Films (public: moderated by nexus - 12 stars)

25. Films available in HD (public: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)

26. Best of criticker: Drama (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 12 stars)

27. films101.com's 5 star films (public: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)

28. Based On True Events (public: moderated by Spunkie - 8 stars)

29. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (public: moderated by Aron Ericson - 8 stars)

30. Black and White Photography (public: moderated by JooJoo - 6 stars)

31. David Thomson's 1000 Films (public: moderated by MMAlpha - 6 stars)

32. Criticker top 250 (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)

33. Journalism (public: moderated by djross - 5 stars)

34. Jonathan Rosenbaum's Alternative Top 100 (public: moderated by dookobore - 5 stars)

35. 1,000 Noir Films: They Shot Dark Pictures, Didn't They? (public: moderated by lisa- - 5 stars)

36. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (public: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)

37. IMDb Top of The 1950's (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 3 stars)

38. List: Noir of the Week (public: moderated by KasperL - 2 stars)

39. Best of criticker: Film Noir (public: moderated by avgcrtckr - 2 stars)

40. Roger Ebert's 4-Star Movies (public: moderated by KirkJiggler - 2 stars)

41. J. Castedo's "The Top 100 Films of the 20th Century" (public: moderated by CCLZA - 1 star)

42. List: Empire's masterpiece picks (public: moderated by KasperL - 1 star)

43. Sight and Sound 2002 (Single Vote) (public: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 1 star)

44. MovieMeter.nl Top 250 (public: moderated by Jorg - 1 star)

45. Premiere Magazine's 50 Unsung Classics (public: moderated by Jorg - 1 star)

46. BBC 100 Greatest American Films (public: moderated by jeff_v - 1 star)

47. Spike Lee's List Of Essential Films Every Filmmaker Must See (public: moderated by comepelicula - 1 star)

48. Average Percentile >70 (public: moderated by peyrin - 1 star)

49. Integrity (or lack of) (public)

50. Moviedrome: Alex Cox (public: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer)

51. New Mexico (public: moderated by Moribunny)

52. Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (private: Ross - 32 stars)

53. Cinema Discusso: Movies You Should See (private - 31 stars)

54. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (private: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)

55. Djross overrated movies (private: djross - 4 stars)

56. edkrak films to see (private: edkrak - 2 stars)

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58. Movies from Another Room (private: umurtas - 1 star)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

Order by:

TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Date	User	Rating
Jan 19	Deoradh	95 _80%
Jan 19	jokevv	70 _75%
Jan 19	ibi8588	90 _%
Jan 18	VanillaSky	90 _94%
Jan 18	xombiemonkey	9 _93%
Jan 15	GFoster	76 _85%
Jan 13	tsebben	77 _64%
Jan 12	nicolino	72 _78%
Jan 12	Ressa	90 _%
Jan 10	Teerak	60 _33%
Jan 07	Charlie	85 _90%
Jan 06	schnofel	85 _95%
Wilder hits a (gold) mine with this. The story gets better, more feverish and absurd with each passing minute. Only then a pointlessly provoked knife attack puts a halt to normal proceedings and puts our anti-hero in a twisted spot - one of needing redemption. Of all the corrupt, dirty bastards in this story, why him? He was on a streak. Well, newspaperman that he is, he sells his end with a lot of pathos.
Jan 06	Chuck92	80 _70%
Jan 06	gossamer2019	70 _69%
Jan 05	Aeschylus	99 _92%
Jan 04	Kabbjeh	85 _92%
Jan 03	WWallce4prez	91 _97%
Billy Wilder had his finger on the pulse of media, past and future, with this cynical tale. For me, its trip from cynical to darkly absurd is where the film soars. Wilder is able to find humor in this story where we now find ourselves daily.
Dec 29, 2018	lucaspeixoto	95 _93%
Dec 28, 2018	atlasakin	80 _39%
Dec 27, 2018	FraGil	65 _37%
Dec 26, 2018	Triptolemos	50 _17%
Dec 24, 2018	Philosofem	74 _60%
Dec 22, 2018	knives	84 _89%
Dec 05, 2018	mathiasa	70 _%
Dec 05, 2018	ozdemirb	78 _63%
Dec 01, 2018	catfingers	79 _81%
Nov 30, 2018	vitruvian	90 _74%
Nov 21, 2018	TaakoDurden	39 _10%
Nov 20, 2018	microplast	80 _83%
Nov 17, 2018	Dom92	80 _65%
Nov 12, 2018	renenarciso	95 _82%
Nov 11, 2018	buddhalou	90 _86%
Nov 11, 2018	kappeuter	70 _%
Nov 09, 2018	sufjan	100 _%
Oct 21, 2018	Mr. Blue	70 _64%
Oct 18, 2018	ShaunLewis54	87 _80%
Oct 18, 2018	Kitano7	80 _80%
Oct 05, 2018	firdeva	85 _77%
Oct 05, 2018	Zalgoz	80 _%
Sep 30, 2018	TheBreather	90 _83%
Sep 20, 2018	ce8	68 _71%
Sep 16, 2018	am4	87 _84%
Sep 16, 2018	rosenritter	7 _72%
This is the first Wilder I've seen that felt like it had some flab, and I might've been unkinder to it were it not for that manic final act, overflowing with cynicism even by Wilder standards. I don't think I'll forget that utterly acerbic closing line anytime soon.
Sep 14, 2018	Ifeelfine	76 _57%
Sep 11, 2018	zelda	92 _74%
Sep 09, 2018	Probus	87 _33%
Sep 09, 2018	Pugs4Less	94 _84%
Sep 09, 2018	Zepheus	70 _%
Aug 23, 2018	Cinemicrobic	90 _85%
Aug 16, 2018	Nackerman	90 _97%
Aug 09, 2018	Fritz Fass	80 _71%
Aug 07, 2018	filmbantha	70 _63%
Aug 05, 2018	Toke Za	65 _54%
Aug 05, 2018	fluland	92 _92%
Aug 03, 2018	kafka1325	69 _79%
Aug 03, 2018	drdutw	91 _95%
Jul 26, 2018	CMQuinn	100 _96%
Jul 25, 2018	kennkoon	80 _79%
Jul 19, 2018	danielst84	90 _90%
Jul 15, 2018	NathanBates	80 _74%
A dark look at what used to be called "yellow journalism," trying to make stars out of newspaper writers. The film, filled with brilliant lines and an outstanding cast, is still relevant today in our own media "circus" (which is literally depicted here).
Jul 14, 2018	nobamba	70 _62%
Jul 11, 2018	britneybitch	85 _21%
Jun 19, 2018	FreddieQuell	97 _98%
Jun 04, 2018	bubbatex	89 _68%
May 29, 2018	mcakmak	81 _59%
May 28, 2018	Batty	80 _74%
May 28, 2018	Curb	93 _95%
May 17, 2018	Angel Eyes	80 _50%
May 17, 2018	Amir abbas	76 _74%
May 13, 2018	HoneyB	71 _42%
May 11, 2018	bholsclaw	77 _83%
May 08, 2018	brennanc	94 _93%
May 07, 2018	Siegel Hans	80 _82%
May 05, 2018	Grandaddy	70 _61%
May 05, 2018	normatic	80 _83%
May 03, 2018	svenerik	80 _56%
May 03, 2018	arash.fo	80 _65%
May 03, 2018	dragos	80 _86%
May 01, 2018	John Milton	80 _87%
Apr 30, 2018	TwoPlusTwo	100 _%
Apr 29, 2018	Ratticus	93 _75%
Apr 26, 2018	HaileyS	95 _89%
Apr 25, 2018	yikimagiden	80 _82%
Apr 18, 2018	fictionfitz	87 _92%
Apr 15, 2018	AchwellFoley	90 _96%
Apr 14, 2018	myriadVoles	90 _68%
Apr 13, 2018	benrad	65 _32%
Apr 13, 2018	dourface	80 _86%
Apr 10, 2018	mate_cosido	85 _69%
Apr 01, 2018	1859	50 _31%
Mar 30, 2018	Box Of Frogs	2 _%
Mar 29, 2018	felixgartner	90 _77%
Mar 23, 2018	horrorjames	75 _82%
Mar 20, 2018	apsays	68 _62%
Mar 17, 2018	allneonslike	78 _82%
Mar 11, 2018	K.Metehan	95 _97%
Mar 09, 2018	scott.mcc	80 _86%
Mar 08, 2018	steelhep	80 _63%
Mar 05, 2018	naco77	90 _92%
Mar 02, 2018	_paula	90 _86%
Feb 27, 2018	Omar96amri	86 _77%
Feb 24, 2018	hamedgolsha	74 _37%
Feb 23, 2018	halilky	90 _66%
Feb 17, 2018	Videogirl88	97 _89%
Feb 17, 2018	coldesser	90 _94%
Feb 17, 2018	R.Brissenden	86 _88%
Feb 09, 2018	zak83	92 _92%
Feb 04, 2018	cloque	5 _25%
Feb 01, 2018	tjshawn	76 _66%
Jan 30, 2018	JimiAntiloop	50 _23%
Jan 29, 2018	rememberthis	60 _23%
Jan 26, 2018	tjobidoo	6 _21%
Jan 23, 2018	ZONE	80 _55%
Jan 18, 2018	Proggoth	80 _50%
Jan 14, 2018	ZombieZer0	92 _91%
Jan 12, 2018	Jay96	82 _50%
Jan 12, 2018	fyodor16	90 _70%
Jan 09, 2018	cengaveri	75 _61%
Jan 04, 2018	geertjan	90 _88%
Dec 30, 2017	derzulya	7 _76%
Dec 20, 2017	Systematicer	70 _69%
Dec 19, 2017	bennick218	87 _83%
Dec 17, 2017	Phantom Nook	78 _77%
A pretty good cautionary tale about sensationalism in media, and valuing a great scoop above all else.
Dec 12, 2017	twijfel	67 _58%
Dec 08, 2017	clouseau	82 _95%
Nov 29, 2017	Cocoa	70 _72%
Nov 26, 2017	drowsy	60 _5%
Nov 25, 2017	kjones77	80 _70%
Nov 23, 2017	Taher Zeus	77 _65%
Nov 22, 2017	njm1211	94 _67%
Nov 06, 2017	pedroserpas	93 _70%
Oct 28, 2017	crusse17	0 _19%
Oct 28, 2017	deanjames	80 _77%
Oct 26, 2017	maxmode	70 _59%
Oct 26, 2017	Dthepyek	49 _50%
Oct 23, 2017	Kurtz	9 _94%
Oct 20, 2017	falsebinary	84 _72%
Oct 12, 2017	thornsofsky	80 _57%
Oct 10, 2017	Broony	83 _70%
Sep 24, 2017	Namlod	80 _65%
Sep 10, 2017	jimmyp	75 _47%
Sep 06, 2017	ekotto	84 _91%
Sep 02, 2017	secludix	60 _52%
Aug 28, 2017	toystwo	70 _14%
Aug 21, 2017	izwt936g	95 _92%
Aug 04, 2017	Mpython	10 _95%
Aug 02, 2017	whataboutit	87 _61%
Jul 30, 2017	cet1412	80 _83%
Jul 29, 2017	mzgan	90 _96%
Jul 29, 2017	Jimmy Suede	75 _57%
Great story about an obnoxious, sleazy reporter, who was, well, pretty sleazy and obnoxious (trying not to spoil it here) and superbly acted by Kirk Douglas. Pretty biting commentary on the media. I'd rate it higher except for some required suspension of disbelief concerning his getting away with his scheme so easily for so long, and the ridiculous circus (literally) that it became.
Jul 18, 2017	davidsietsma	100 _92%
Jul 16, 2017	robochaa	60 _26%
Jul 15, 2017	Risselada	83 _80%
Jul 14, 2017	haljordan2	1 _%
Jul 14, 2017	umurtas	75 _71%
Jul 08, 2017	tinatinas	70 _45%
Jul 07, 2017	sammosummo	70 _54%
Jun 21, 2017	ATLANTIS1	0 _%
Jun 08, 2017	xmoffx	5 _88%
Jun 05, 2017	kharms	70 _50%
May 24, 2017	leemarvins	85 _84%
May 20, 2017	barryegan	90 _76%
May 15, 2017	DrWade42	88 _87%
May 12, 2017	HillJackBob	80 _80%
May 12, 2017	SirStuckey	75 _67%
Kirk Douglas plays a super asshole. Jan Sterling plays a lazily written idiot asshole. The script is effective in it's cynicism (which I can appreciate) but is super contrived (which I can't). Still despite it's obvious flaws I found it quite compelling.
May 09, 2017	albajos	90 _93%
May 08, 2017	peyez	6 _54%
May 07, 2017	what side	80 _79%
Apr 23, 2017	zya00	72 _34%
Apr 19, 2017	muratkrks	85 _90%
Apr 18, 2017	bybrt	75 _74%
Apr 13, 2017	bleaker	87 _77%
Apr 09, 2017	cripplehorse	32 _24%
Apr 09, 2017	ICMforum	100 _89%
Mar 29, 2017	maneeshgoel	80 _64%
Mar 17, 2017	Winston4th	91 _91%
Mar 15, 2017	marjoline	75 _64%
Mar 11, 2017	RYM-byrates	80 _98%
Mar 06, 2017	pja	86 _89%
Mar 03, 2017	Silp	94 _81%
Mar 03, 2017	tipieserozge	80 _81%
Mar 01, 2017	BromarSharif	90 _94%
Feb 28, 2017	TMDaines	75 _59%
Feb 25, 2017	mCihhh	90 _94%
Feb 24, 2017	Panunzio	83 _86%
Feb 21, 2017	kode	75 _41%
Feb 21, 2017	tsdcosta	98 _93%
Feb 19, 2017	johnnycash25	80 _16%
Feb 15, 2017	thumhowitz	95 _91%
Feb 13, 2017	Kobaruon	80 _83%
Feb 12, 2017	ArcticLendri	95 _90%
Feb 11, 2017	CPosnanski	9 _90%
Feb 10, 2017	jsa86_86	60 _24%
Feb 09, 2017	Bibzom	78 _78%
Feb 08, 2017	Angliche92	82 _86%
Feb 07, 2017	bhalac	85 _85%
Feb 07, 2017	Chrysophylax	60 _27%
Jan 27, 2017	PietHeijn	90 _96%
I can see that this movie is being criticised for being too heavy-handed. However, this viewer was blown away by the cynism and power of "Ace in the Hole", a movie that gives an incredible insight in the world of sensationalism.
Jan 25, 2017	rcjunk	83 _87%
Jan 24, 2017	zmt311	83 _91%
Jan 24, 2017	chuckdog	80 _74%
Jan 19, 2017	Robert Frost	90 _82%
Jan 18, 2017	VegA	81 _82%
Jan 14, 2017	cshadows2887	92 _82%
Jan 14, 2017	mjbreuer	93 _95%
Jan 14, 2017	castanpod	87 _89%
Jan 11, 2017	jpn	5 _90%
Jan 11, 2017	Uatu	4 _91%
Jan 03, 2017	Moses77	10 _96%
Jan 01, 2017	Buff	55 _86%
Dec 28, 2016	zero5100	80 _20%
Dec 26, 2016	Rebert	8 _87%
Dec 23, 2016	fakefeudal	90 _83%
Dec 22, 2016	kosecki	90 _91%
Dec 19, 2016	altiparmakli	96 _96%
Dec 10, 2016	MovieDraft	100 _%
Dec 07, 2016	HakkaMex	8 _83%
Dec 07, 2016	bidola	83 _73%
Dec 04, 2016	Cowman	80 _88%
Dec 01, 2016	nunobar	80 _69%
Nov 27, 2016	critiquer	81 _92%
Nov 26, 2016	kxlly	77 _81%
Nov 20, 2016	Hakan Güner	95 _91%
Nov 20, 2016	brickwall	80 _78%
Nov 17, 2016	schrutie	85 _76%
Nov 17, 2016	rorschach05	90 _87%
Nov 11, 2016	kupfertj	85 _86%
Nov 10, 2016	Ronin22	80 _97%
Nov 06, 2016	A.Marcolino	86 _56%
Nov 06, 2016	PaulB1	85 _74%
Nov 01, 2016	abz	90 _79%
Oct 31, 2016	Roshambo	75 _87%
Oct 30, 2016	zkas1225	77 _69%
Oct 23, 2016	Phil Clowns	55 _12%
Oct 23, 2016	babaracus	8 _68%
Oct 21, 2016	imdbtv	82 _89%
Oct 19, 2016	jerrywarton	90 _98%
Oct 18, 2016	enesusbow	85 _68%
Oct 18, 2016	TheMarkle	70 _66%
Oct 17, 2016	Barbudo	80 _38%
Oct 10, 2016	donmezsefa	80 _87%
Oct 06, 2016	Dominoes1992	90 _67%
Oct 04, 2016	izefferino13	86 _47%
Oct 04, 2016	Jtucker10101	99 _96%
Sep 23, 2016	rojatume	86 _89%
Sep 17, 2016	inmate	86 _84%
Sep 16, 2016	cankutozturk	78 _81%
Sep 16, 2016	Guepard	95 _65%
Sep 15, 2016	Caracortada	40 _43%
Sep 11, 2016	KeasbyKnight	8 _79%

Displaying 1 to 250 of 1228 total ratings: Prev | Next

Average Percentile 73.82% from 1228 Ratings