The Funny Pages, 1951

Looks like someone has painted a big arrow on the pavement! Are we really supposed to believe that anybody could fit in a slot machine? Even in “Dick Tracy?”

March 24, 1951:  Here’s what was on The Times’ comics page in 1951. There were the long-running stalwarts, like  “Dick Tracy” and “Nancy,” but also some obscure strips, like “Dawn O’Day” and “Casey Ruggles.”  ALSO The Times comics in 1931 The Times comics in 1941

Second Takes -- Billy Wilder

June 15, 1951: "Ace in the Hole" opens in Los Angeles.

April 7, 1950: Billy Wilder is casting a film with the working title "Human Interest Story" and renames it "Ace in the Hole."

April 13, 1950: Jan Sterling is cast in the film.

Hedda Hopper, who had a small role in Wilder's last film, "Sunset Boulevard," plugs "Ace in the Hole."

June 16, 1950: Casting for the film continues.

Aug. 20, 1950: The Times finally interviews Billy Wilder. Wilder tells The Times' Philip K. Scheuer: "Class in pictures nowadays has to be smuggled in like contraband and artistry is a nasty word" ... "The question about a picture is not whether it is good or bad but whether it is alive or dead....  'Casablanca' was full of holes as a story, but it was alive as a film and the public loved it."

June 10, 1951: An early example of damage control. Paramount obviously knew a movie as bitter and caustic as "Ace in the Hole" would be a tough sell.

June 16, 1951: The Times' Edwin Schallert praises "Ace in the Hole": "Controversial and challenged as this Paramount production will prove to be, it has a singular power and fascination. The writing ... seems extraordinarily potent."

June 20, 1951: Hedda Hopper pans "Ace in the Hole."

Aug. 19, 1951: "Ace in the Hole" is renamed "The Big Carnival." The movie will languish in obscurity for decades.