Ace in the Hole

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Timing: 1:51 (111 min)

7.855/10
734

7.778/10
6939

8.1/10
42000

All about film

Video 3

Photo 58

Actors and characters

Release date

1951-06-29

Country

United States

Production

Paramount

Genre

Drama

Budget

$1 800 000

Revenue

$3 969 893

Website

Director

Billy Wilder

Actors

Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Ray Teal, Lewis Martin, John Berkes, Frances Dominguez
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Billy Wilder, Walter Newman

Producer

Billy Wilder

Operator

Charles Lang

Composer

Hugo Friedhofer

Artist

Audition

Bert McKay

Editing

Arthur P. Schmidt
All team (33)

• The film was not a box office success, but over time it entered the "golden fund" of Hollywood.
• The film was met with a cold reception by audiences, and the film company lost money. Without notifying director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, and certainly without asking his permission, the studio management changed the film's title to "The Big Carnival" in the hope of increasing box office receipts. This did not work. Wilder's next film (the 1952 war drama "Stalag 17") was a commercial success, and Wilder expected to receive his share of the film's earnings from theaters. However, accountants at "Paramount Pictures" told him that the lost revenue from "Ace in the Hole" would be deducted from the director's fee for "Stalag 17".
• Actor Victor Desny (1906-1979) filed a lawsuit against this film while the screenplay was still being written. He claimed that the screenplay was an unauthorized and slightly reworked version of the story of Floyd Collins (1887-1925). Collins had indeed once become lost in caves, as was mentioned in the film. Desny owned the rights to this story, and that is why he alleged copyright infringement. Director and screenwriter Billy Wilder (1906-2002) filed a countersuit, but Desny prevailed, and Wilder's lawyers paid him $14,350.