Ace in the Hole
Adam and Nate fall into Ace in the Hole (1951), Billy Wilder’s box office flop that Matt Groening reclaimed for the plot of The Simpsons episode “Radio Bart” (S3E13).
Also in this episode:
When you get a recommendation from Spike Lee, you accept
Is this the most Simpsons-y plot we’ve covered to date?
A social satire that we wish wasn’t so relevant today
Do this movie’s film noir tropes still hold up?
Next time, director Alex Ross Perry joins the podcast to talk “Mr. Plow” (S4E9) and its parody of another reappraised flop, William Friedkin’s Sorcerer (1977).
For more Simpsons movie parody content, follow us at @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.
Every Simpsons Reference to Ace in the Hole
By our count, Ace in the Hole has been directly referenced once in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The first reference appears in “Radio Bart” (S3E13) from 1992, 41 years after the release of the movie.
Plot References
Radio Bart (S3E13): Matt Groening came to Jon Vitti with nearly the whole plot of this episode, inspired by Ace in the Hole. Much like Tatum, the unscrupulous journalist at the center of this movie who exaggerates and prolongs a human interest story about a man trapped in a mine, Bart concocts a story about a boy that fell down a well.
Of course, in both cases, the townspeople are all to eager to lap up the lies, and even write original songs about poor Leo and Timmy. (Although The Simpsons version is also a thinly veiled parody of “We Are the World.”)
Ultimately, both news stories swell into a literal “media circus,” complete with ferris wheels and admission fees.
While both Bart and Tatum get their just deserts, Bart’s scheme plays out more like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” than the film. Bart himself falls down the well and no one will help him because of his deception. We won’t spoil what happens to Tatum, but it’s certainly different!
Extra Credit
Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.
From Adam: Network (1976)
From Nate: Sunset Boulevard (1950)
On the Watchlist: Eddington (2025)
