[Inspector Abberline]

Ace In The Hole.(1951)
Billy Wilder's Ace In the Hole sees Kirk Douglas playing Charles Tatum,a washed up,once big newspaper journalist.So whats better than a hard boiled detective,well probably a hard boiled newspaper man,(see also The Harder They Fall (1956) with Humphrey Bogart as ex-sportswriter Eddie Willis turned boxing promoter) who is willing to risk a man life just so he can drag the story out and get what he wants.While working for a small newspaper,Tatum (Douglas) and his photographer are heading for a rattle snake hunt,along the way they stop at a deserted desert petrol station.What they find is Richard Benedict as Leo Minosa a man trapped inside a local mountain full of Indian burial artefacts.Its Leo's predicament that then starts what will be a massive rescue attempt and local carnival as people from all across the country come to witness Leo's rescue or death from inside the mountain.
It has to be said that Kirk Douglas does some of his best sneering in this film,if he is not sneering at his boss,then he's sneering at the local sheriff and just about anyone who gets in his way.The only person he actually feels compassion for is Leo,the man trapped literally at the centre of the story. Tatum see's the opportunity to make this story bigger than it is and also a way of him getting back into the major league newspapers,unfortunately for Leo this also means that instead of being rescued sooner its much much later. And as the story breaks across the country more and more people appear,until the whole country side is turned into a massive fun fair come carnival.Add to all this Leo's wife Jan Sterling as Lorraine Minosa ,a peroxide blonde who nearly runs out on Leo while he is trapped,only to realise that there is money to be made from his misadventure ,(Tatum sneers allot at her) . You really have to feel sorry for poor old Leo, even Ray Teal as Sheriff Kretzer, is in on the act,persuading the construction contractor to change tact and drill from the top of the mountain,thus taking twice as long. You would have to imagine that Billy Wilder has a low opinion of people and journalists in particular,its a very cynical view of how people can be in such circumstances.
Charles Tatum: I can handle big news and little news. And if there's no news, I'll go out and bite a dog.