Having been fired from every major news outlet for a variety of reasons, a caustic, hard bitten, alcoholic reporter (Kirk Douglas) talks his way on to the staff of the Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, serendipitously stumbles upon a man trapped in a cave, and milks it for every penny its worth by generating a media sideshow and even putting the once secured man's life in jeopardy in the process. Billy Wilder's dark and witty Ace in the Hole is relentlessly cynical, eerily prescient, and contains a great Douglas performances and one of those unforgettable Wilder endings.
*** 1/2 out of ****
