72
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA searing example of writer-director Billy Wilder at his most brilliantly misanthropic. An uncompromising portrait of human nature at its worst, the film was so far ahead of its time in its depiction of a media circus and the public's appetite for tragedy that it was a commercial disaster when first released, but now stands as one of the great American films of the 1950s.
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittIt's dark, funny, ferocious, and vintage Wilder all the way.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottAce in the Hole is an acquired taste -- and an unforgettable one.
- 80VarietyVarietyBilly Wilder's direction captures the feel of morbid expectancy that always comes out in the curious that flock to scenes of tragedy.
- 50Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanAce in the Hole is a movie about the fascination of disaster that is itself a fascinating disaster.
- 40Film ThreatPhil HallFilm ThreatPhil HallSo ham-handed and relentlessly overbaked that it is easy to see why audiences initially stayed away from it. Just when and how did anyone come to see this as a classic?