Billy Wilder explains how the commercial failure of "Ace in the Hole" (1951) changed his view about the audience: "Wilder: 'Ace in the Hole' (1951) was a very peculiar thing. I was very fond of the picture—I got wonderful, wonderful reactions to it from more serious people. But for some reason or other, people did not want to see that grim a picture, that boasted the guy in the hole there, and the reporter, Mr. Kirk Douglas. It was very somber. It was one of my most somber pictures. And they did not believe me that when somebody’s a newspaperman, they are capable of that behavior. Interviewer: Very much ahead of its time. Wilder: [Shrugs.] Yeah. Interviewer: In this current age of tabloid culture, 'Ace in the Hole' has never felt more up-to-the-minute. Is it amusing to you, how this film has held up? Wilder: Yeah, that’s very funny, I must say. It was a complete failure. It was just... I don’t know. I just changed my mind about the audience. I just think that if you do something very fine, that they will get to the core of the thing, what it’s about, what it’s really about. But they never, at the time, they never gave it a chance. Somebody in an editorial, I think, in Life magazine said that “Mr. Wilder should be deported.” I felt that I was not with it anymore. That I wrote against the audience, the people who paid, in those days, a dollar fifty, two dollars. They felt robbed. They wanted to be entertained, entertained in a serious way, but not too serious a way. I don’t know. Then again, they did go for 'Double Indemnity' (1944). You can never, never, never predict an audience’s reaction. You never know how it’s going to affect them. But I hear about 'Ace in the Hole' quite a bit these days." ("Conversations with Wilder", Cameron Crowe, 1999) P.S: On this day, 75 years ago, "Ace in the Hole" (1951) premiered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

Here's the playlist for my @chirpradio show this morning. Thanks to everyone who tuned in! I'm back on next Saturday, 9-Noon (CDT): habloennui.blogspot.com/2026…

I'm back on @chirpradio this morning, 9-Noon (CDT) w/new Olivia Rodrigo, Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson, Kalia Vandever, THAO, Joan As Police Woman, Yea-Ming and The Rumours, The Linda Lindas, Sports Boyfriend, and Starcharm. Tune in at 107.1 FM or chirpradio.org/.

The RFA Airplay Chart thru June 11 has been published at RadioFreeAmericana.com/airpl… and includes hundreds of new recordings with 35 adds, along with links to sample and purchase to support your favorite artists. Here are some of the top spins for the week:

Thirty four minutes of brazen swagger, spitfire hooks and barely sublimated desperation, The Replacements’ ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ is one of rock and roll’s great underdog passion plays. Bad debts, steep ledges and the flickering pulse of a runaway dream. I’m in love with that song.

Sly & The Family Stone - I Want to Take You Higher A blistering ode to the transcendent power of music. Raw-throated rock ‘n’ soul, and a psychedelic powerhouse. The peak of what Sly had been working towards in the ‘60s. 1969.

Happy 65th birthday to Kim Deal!

Happy 65th birthday to the insanely talented Kim Deal. ❤️🎉

James Blood Ulmer, pioneering funk and jazz guitarist, dies at 86 pitchfork.com/news/james-blo…

Eddie Muller screened "Armored Car Robbery" (1950) in his first Film Noir Festival [in 1998?] with Richard Fleischer as the guest of honour. Fleischer hadn't seen the movie after he completed post production in 1950. He was nervous about seeing it completely for the first time. Just before the lights went down, Fleischer told Muller, "I'm afraid, I will be embarrassed". After watching the movie completely, Fleischer smiled and said, "Not bad. I gotta say not bad for a kid just starting out." ("Noir Alley", Eddie Muller, TCM) P.S: On this day, 76 years ago, "Armored Car Robbery" (1950) was released in the USA.

47 years ago today Ramones at San Francisco Civic Center, June 8, 1979 California Sun #punk #punks #punkrock #punklegends #ramones #SanFrancisco #punkrockhistory

Masterpiece.

I'm back on @CHIRPRadio this morning, 9-Noon (CDT) w/new Bedouine, Jessica Lea Mayfield and Dolour, Sparklmami, Lizzo, Kareen Lomax, The Claudettes, Death Cab For Cutie, Maz, and The Well Wishers. Tune in at 107.1 FM or chirpradio.org/.

“The Thing” director John Carpenter praises Keith David as an “astonishing actor” while honoring him at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. variety.com/2026/tv/focus/ke…

The RFA Airplay Chart thru June 4 has been published at RadioFreeAmericana.com/airpl… and includes hundreds of new releases with links to sample and purchase. Here are some of the top spins for the week:

Mario Bava on the troubles he faced while making 'Planet of the Vampires' (1965): "I wish that the audience and the critics knew the conditions under which I am forced to make movies. For 'Planet of the Vampires' (1965), I didn’t have anything to work with. There was only a studio, completely empty and squalid, because there was no money: I had to turn that into a [mysterious, alien] planet. So what did I do? In the studio next door there were two big plastic rocks, a leftover prop from a sword-and-sandal movie or something. I took these two rocks and I put them in the middle of my studio, then I covered the floor with smoke and I darkened the white wall in the background. I shot the whole movie by moving the two rocks around the studio. Can you believe it? And, while I was shooting, there was this American screenwriter who kept rewriting the script, changing scenes and dialogues… After a while, I stopped listening to him. Do you remember that, at the end of the movie, the astronauts land on planet Earth at the beginning of its existence? Well, the screenwriter wanted the astronauts to get off the spaceship and meet Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which was located in Missouri, USA. Naturally, I refused to shoot this kind of stuff." (Mario Bava's interview with Luigi Cozzi, translated by Cinepugno, 1970)

Iranian-French filmmaker and graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi has sadly passed away at the age of 56. Satrapi was best known for Persepolis and its acclaimed animated film adaptation, works that brought her international recognition and made her one of the most influential voices in contemporary graphic storytelling. Her legacy spans literature, film, and advocacy for freedom, women’s rights, and human rights. Rest in peace. 🖤

Happy birthday to Curtis Mayfield, born on this day in 1942!

“All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.” — Thelonious Monk

‘Winter in America’ — one of the most powerful and reflective records ever made.