Ace in the Hole (1951)

This movie, direceted and produced by Billy Wilder, is about a newspaper man (Kirk Douglas) who has been fired from many big-name East Coast newspapers and finds himself in Albuquerque, New Mexico to work for their paper. He is hoping to land a big story to get back to New York. He discovers a man trapped in a cave. The rescuers say they can get him out in 16 hours, but Douglas basically bribes the local sheriff so that they'll instead use a much slower method that will take a weed to get him out putting the man trapped inside at great risk. The plot is quite simple, but very entertaining.

The principle actor in this film is Kirk Douglas and he does a good job. This film pretty much meets all the criteria of a film noir, and Douglas' acting is perfect for the lead in a noir film. He's not quite Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon good, but still most excellent. The limited supporting cast does a good enough job and they all seem believable.

This movie is quite good and other than Sunset Boulevard it's the best Billy Wilder film I have seen. Contemporary critics complained that the whole plot was a little unrealistic and I suppose that claim is at least somewhat valid. It doesn't really matter though because even though the plot is unlikely, it seems at least plausible and everything else is pretty good. This is definitely a must-see film.

89/100
B+

UP NEXT: Yet another Billy Wilder film, Witness for the Prosecution.