Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole"

Roger Ebert reviews this somewhat forgotten Billy Wilder film; newly available on DVD:

"There's not a soft or sentimental passage in Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951), a portrait of rotten journalism and the public's insatiable appetite for it... The movie stars Kirk Douglas, an actor who could freeze the blood when he wanted to, in his most savage role. Yes, he made comedies and played heroes, but he could be merciless, his face curling into scorn and bitterness. He plays Charles Tatum, a skilled reporter with a drinking problem, who has been fired in 11 markets (slander, adultery, boozing) when his car breaks down in Albuquerque and he cons his way into a job at the local paper...

full review: Chicago Sun-Times