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Ace in the Hole (1951). A flop at the time, this Billy Wilder noir classic just gets better with age. Fueled by opportunism and greed, the characters in this film are all too believable for their ugly portrayals of humanity willing to glean the profits of another's suffering. Kirk Douglas helms the gaggle of ugliness in an over the top performance of exploitative manipulations, ending in a literal carnival of tragic proportions. The conspicuous lack of a hero may have accounted for its poor box office performance, the masses were not geared up for journalistic film noir; or maybe they did not want to face the untoward reflection of the media- the gawking masses. With great direction, impressive performances, and an ending that was a director of photography's dream, today's audience might just be a little more real about the veritable nature of the media and its audience. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk
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Fate is my mistress, mother of the cruel abomination that is hope.
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