# Big Carnival, The (1951)

### reviewed by
Brian Koller

    Ace in the Hole (1951)

    Grade: 77

Also known as "The Big Carnival", "Ace in the Hole" was a major commercial failure for director/producer/ co-screenwriter Billy Wilder. The theme was too harshly critical and misanthropic for audiences who were seeking entertainment. However, the film is highly regarded today in this more cynical age. If anything, the story has become more appropriate over the years, as the separation between news and entertainment has blurred.

Kirk Douglas was ideally cast as cynical, talented journalist Chuck Tatum. Fired from several high-paying jobs due to his reckless behavior, he takes a job at a small New Mexico paper and waits for his chance to reclaim the big-time. His big break occurs when miner Leo Minosa (Richard Benedict) is trapped in an Indian cliff dwelling. Tatum successfully manipulates the story into a media circus, in the process striking bargains with Tatum's selfish, loveless wife Lorraine (Jan Sterling) and a crooked sheriff (Ray Teal). Lorraine must pretend she is grief-stricken, while Teal receives favorable publicity in return for giving Tatum exclusive access to Leo. Meanwhile, poor Leo is left to die, as the rescue operation is deliberately slowed in order to stretch out the story.

Midway through the film, Tatum has a character transformation due to his guilt over Leo's plight. This is the major weakness of the film: had the venal Tatum survived and emerged triumphant, the film would have retained greater shock value and would have made its point more clearly. But it is understandable why Douglas' character was changed; the film was too forceful for contemporary audiences even as released.

Lorraine and the sheriff, however, remain completely unsympathetic throughout. Their characters' favorable outcomes, contrasted with Tatum's self-destruction, also makes a point. If you have been a heel all of your life, no one will buy it when you become a do-gooder. The character of cub photographer Herbie (Robert Arthur) is also interesting: his trusting, ethical character is quickly corrupted by Tatum's unscrupulous, sensational brand of journalism.

The script has some great lines. My favorite is Tatum's boast "Now that they've pitched me a big fat one, I'm gonna smack it right out of the ballpark."

kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html

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