One, Two, Three (1961)

Comedy about Coca-Cola's man in West Berlin, who may be fired if he can't keep his American boss's daughter from marrying a Communist.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (screenplay), I.A.L. Diamond (screenplay),

Stars:

James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Cagney	...	C.R. MacNamara
Horst Buchholz	...	Otto Ludwig Piffl
Pamela Tiffin	...	Scarlett Hazeltine
Arlene Francis	...	Phyllis MacNamara
Howard St. John	...	Wendell P. Hazeltine
Hanns Lothar	...	Schlemmer
Leon Askin	...	Peripetchikoff
Ralf Wolter	...	Borodenko
Karl Lieffen	...	Fritz
Hubert von Meyerinck	...	Count von Droste Schattenburg
Loïs Bolton	...	Melanie Hazeltine (as Lois Bolton)
Peter Capell	...	Mishkin
Til Kiwe	...	Reporter
Henning Schlüter	...	Dr. Bauer
Karl Ludwig Lindt	...	Zeidlitz

Storyline

Berlin is the epitome of political and economic polarization. A microcosm of that polarization is the life of American C.R. MacNamara, known as Mac to his friends. He is Coca-Cola's head of West Berlin operations, although he feels he deserves to be Coca-Cola's head of European operations based in London. Mac's wife, Phyllis, wants him instead to get a steady and stable job back in head office in Atlanta. His West Berlin staff are all still used to treating him like their old master, the Fuhrer. The one exception is his secretary, Ingeborg, who is the latest in the long line of his secretary mistresses. And he's working on a trade agreement of getting Coca-Cola into the Russian market. His life goes into a tailspin when he hosts Scarlett Hazeltine in his home for two weeks. She is the seventeen year old spoiled and party-loving daughter of his Atlanta based boss, Wendell Hazeltine. Unlike most of the stops she's made on her European trip, Scarlett seems to like West Berlin and stays ...

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Plot Keywords:

coca cola | communist | russian | cold war | ideology | 

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Taglines:

Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

15 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eins, zwei, drei

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Mirisch Corporation, The, Pyramid Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 108 min (1962) (banned) 108 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The building of the Berlin Wall during production badly hurt the film's marketing in Germany. It was very ill-received by German audiences and had minimal success during its initial run.

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Goofs

In the Grand Hotel Potemkin sequence showing the crossed Soviet and East German flags, the East German flag is upside down (black stripe should be on the top); maybe this was a deliberate error on the part of the filmmakers.

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Quotes

C.R. MacNamara: Schlemmer you're back in the SS, small salary!

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Connections

Featured in Billy Wilder Speaks (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Yes! We Have No Bananas (Ausgerechnet Bananen)"
(uncredited)
Written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn

User Reviews

Dated but still vibrant...

Although "One, Two, Three" was made at a tense and crucial point in the Cold War standoff, it is bitingly funny and has aged well. As previous reviewers have noted, the performances are top notch, particularly those delivered by Cagney, Bucholz and Arlene Francis. The satire is thick in every scene, with particularly sharp barbs aimed at the behavior and attitudes of post-war Germans. The parodies of and references to Cagney's earlier films are also very funny. Cagney's makeover of the committed young Communist is outrageous.

A definite "10"...Wilder during his career peak, and Cagney delivering a fitting career finale.