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Ace in the Hole (1951)

post #1 of 5
3/8/08 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
Continuing my "holy shit, I'm in love with Billy Wilder" series is this brilliant film. It feels like PTA was definitely influenced by this on There Will Be Blood. Tatum may be no Plainview, but, until the end, he definitely has that "manipulate all at all costs" quality.
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post #2 of 5
3/9/08 at 6:14am
You're definitely right about PTA being influenced by this. He even said it in an interview on IFC a while back. I think it's on youtube if you're really interested. I also loved this, and depending on the mood it's my favorite of Wilder's films (out of the eight or so of his I've seen). I think it's one of the greater stories of American greed, right up there with Giant and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, yet not nearly as appreciated.
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post #3 of 5
9/14/10 at 3:38pm
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Watched this again today. Is there any Kirk Douglas roles that compare to this? He's on fire the whole time. Love the typewriter match lighting too.
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post #4 of 5
9/14/10 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll View Post
Watched this again today. Is there any Kirk Douglas roles that compare to this? He's on fire the whole time. Love the typewriter match lighting too.

He's really great in "Seven Days in May" and "Paths of Glory," but "Ace in the Hole" is easily his best performance in my opinion. He played Van Gough in "Lust for Life," which is one of those great over-the-top performances that manages to be hammy & great at the same time. But nothing tops "Ace." Still the best.

Yes, he's much better in that than "Greedy" with Michael J Fox & Ed Begley Jr.
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post #5 of 5
9/14/10 at 9:13pm
We had a pretty good discussion about this in the "Movie of the month club" last year.
Fantastic film and performance.
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