I’m a photographer and I generally shoot B&W film. For this reason I love watching old B&W films. Their use of shadows and tonality is fascinating to me and Ace in the Hole did not disappoint in that regard.
We meet Charles Tatum in an out of luck part of his life. He’s been fired from all the major newspapers for various reasons which leads him to Albuquerque. A dead end job for a high flying city reporter. The only way he can see an out is to catch a break with a major story and sell himself to one of the big papers. After a year covering what he considers nothing he makes his own front page story and what a reaction he gets.
Tatum is not a nice man. He’s surrounded by various characters who are rather selfish and nasty much like himself. In the middle, a man lies in a cave slowly dying while a party atmosphere builds just outside the cave. Will the man survive? Will Tatum get what he wants? Is he going to suddenly develop a conscience?
This movie looks at media sensationalism and how it affects people. It’s a late noir led by Kirk Douglas in a strong role that fits him well. I gave it a 7/10 but considered bumping it up to an 8 simply for the last line of the movie. It’s pure silver screen magic.