Ace in the hole
(DVD)

Originally released as an American motion picture in 1951.

Disc 2: the supplements: "Portrait of a '60% perfect man': Billy Wilder" [featurette] (60 min.); Billy Wilder at the American Film Institute [featurette] (24 min.); Kirk Douglas interview [featurette] (14 min.); Walter Newman interview [audio only feature] (10 min.); Spike Lee afterword [featurette] (6 min.); Stills gallery; Insert (a facsimile newspaper) includes essays "Noir in broad daylight" by Molly Haskell and "Chin up for Mother" by Guy Maddin.

Director of photography, Charles B. Lang, Jr.; edited by Arthur Schmidt ; music score by Hugo Friedhofer ; art direction, Hal Pereira and Earl Hedrick ; costumes, Edith Head.

Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Bob Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Ray Teal, Frank Jaquet.

The Ace in the Hole, in this case, is Leo Minosa, trapped in a cliff dwelling near Albuquerque, N.M. The publicity from his situation could build a winning hand for several people: Chuck Tatum, manipulative veteran newsman; Lorraine, his bored wife who dreams of city lights; Sheriff Gus Kretzer, boosting his re-election campaign; and young Herbie, a reporter who wants to make the big leagues. In 1951, there was no 24-hour cable news, and the Albuquerque paper was not on the Internet. The modern media age, however, was dawning. A veritable carnival sets up at the rescue scene, which may be one of the sources of the term "media circus."

DVD format; region 1, NTSC; Dolby Digital mono; aspect ratio 1.33:1.

In English with optional subtitles in English.

Winner, International Award: Billy Wilder, 1951 Venice Film Festival; Best Actress Award: Jan Sterling, 1951 National Board of Review.