What filmmaking techniques does Ace in the Hole use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Ace in the Hole (1951): Escalating Moral Stakes, Dramatic Irony, Circular Structure, Ironic Pop Music Score and Set as Total World.

Who directed Ace in the Hole?

Billy Wilder directed Ace in the Hole, released in 1951. CineCode also covers Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955).

What films are similar to Ace in the Hole?

Films that share techniques with Ace in the Hole include Yesterday (2019), Beowulf (2007), Cleopatra (1963), Get Out (2017).

Drama · Thriller

Ace in the Hole

Billy Wilder, 1951

Fired from big newspapers, reporter Chuck Tatum sees a comeback when a man is trapped in a collapsed cave in New Mexico. He stretches out the rescue to keep the story alive while a carnival grows around the site. Look at how Billy Wilder builds the whole circus on a real-scale set.

3 Narrative 1 Sound 1 Cinematography

At a glance

Ace in the Hole is a 1951 drama and thriller film directed by Billy Wilder. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 sound and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Yesterday uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Escalating Moral Stakes

Raising the ethical price of winning with each part of the story. Every compromise the characters make leads to a worse one, until they can't go back.

How this film uses it

Each deal Tatum makes forces a worse one. He bargains with the sheriff, then pushes a longer rescue plan, then lies to his editor. You watch a man talk himself past every line.

Where to see it

Drilling from above: Tatum and Sheriff Kretzer convince contractor Smollett to drill down from above instead of shoring up the cave. That stretches the rescue from 12 hours to a week.

Narrative

Dramatic Irony

Letting the audience know something a character doesn't. You watch them act without that knowledge, which creates suspense, dread or dark comedy.

How this film uses it

You know the drilling plan is slowing the rescue, and Leo does not. He is stuck below, thinking the reporter is on his side. That gap makes every friendly word from Tatum feel colder.

Where to see it

Leo's anniversary gift: Leo tells Tatum there is a fifth-anniversary present for Lorraine in their bedroom. Tatum forces a reluctant Lorraine to open the fur stole and wear it.

Narrative

Circular Structure

Ending the film where it started, or with a scene that echoes the opening. The repeat shows what has changed, or suggests the cycle will keep going.

How this film uses it

Tatum begins the story begging for a job at the small Albuquerque paper. He ends it back in the same office, asking his old boss for his job back. The loop shows how far he went and how little he gained.

Where to see it

Return to the Sun-Bulletin: Stabbed and drunk, Tatum drives back to the newspaper and asks Boot for his job back. He collapses and dies beneath an embroidered sign reading Tell The Truth.

Sound

Ironic Pop Music Score

Playing a cheerful or familiar pop song over violence or moral disaster. The gap between the song and the image creates dark comedy and political commentary.

How this film uses it

A band and a vocalist perform a cheerful song called We're Coming, Leo for the crowd while the rescue drags on. The jolly tune makes the carnival look cruel, because the man it names is still trapped.

Where to see it

The carnival: Tourists flock to the rescue site while a carousel and a Ferris wheel run and trains unload more onlookers.

Cinematography

Set as Total World

Building a set so complete, with its own weather, crowds, architecture and social rules, that it feels lived in. It reads as real until one deliberate slip shows that it was built.

How this film uses it

The exterior was built about 19 miles west of Gallup, New Mexico, and was the largest non-combat set of its time. It stood 235 feet high and included a cliff dwelling, roadside stands and a carnival site. More than 1,000 extras and 400 cars filled it, so the circus looks as big as the lie behind it.

Where to see it

The rescue-site crowd: A crowd of onlookers fills the parking lots, stands and carnival rides around the cliff dwelling where Leo is trapped.

Questions

Ace in the Hole: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Ace in the Hole use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Ace in the Hole (1951): Escalating Moral Stakes, Dramatic Irony, Circular Structure, Ironic Pop Music Score and Set as Total World.
Who directed Ace in the Hole?: Billy Wilder directed Ace in the Hole, released in 1951. CineCode also covers Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955).
What films are similar to Ace in the Hole?: Films that share techniques with Ace in the Hole include Yesterday (2019), Beowulf (2007), Cleopatra (1963), Get Out (2017).

Keep watching