I’m not sure I entirely agree with its widespread classification as a Film Noir, but “Ace in the Hole” (aka “The Big Carnival), which finally arrives on DVD today, is certainly the darkest movie of Billy Wilder’s career. And it may be the best, and most damning, portrait of journalism in Hollywood history. Film critics, who in 1951 were mostly former reporters (which is not true today), criticized this tale of an unethical newsman (Kirk Douglas at his most brilliant) who exploits a man trapped in a cave as inaccurate. As someone who has worked as a reporter and an editor for many years, I can attest that Wilder, who was a reporter in Berlin before Hitler obliged him to leave, knows exactly what he’s talking about. I have more thoughts on this flick today in The Post.