One, Two, Three (1961)

In West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

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

Stars:

James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 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 | american in europe | balloons | checkpoint charlie | 

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Taglines:

Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

28 February 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

Un, deux, trois

Filming Locations:

Brandenburger Tor, Mitte, Berlin, 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

To cause problems for Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz), James Cagney gives him a cuckoo clock that plays the old English song,"Yankee Doodle," causing Buchholz to get arrested by the East Germany police. Jimmy Cagney played the lead role in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), the story of George M. Cohan, the composer of "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

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Goofs

When Otto rides his motorcycle back to East Berlin, there is a balloon on the tailpipe with "Russki Go Home" printed on it. As he rides through the streets of West Berlin, the lettering is on the side of the balloon. By the time he crosses into East Berlin, the lettering has shifted and is now on the rear.

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Quotes

[Ingeborg is in her slip in MacNamara's office]
C.R. MacNamara: You better put something on. Your goose pimples are showing.
Ingeborg: [looking down] That's nothing. You should see my sister.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Watchmen/Shuttle/12 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Sabre Dance
(uncredited)
from "Gayaneh"
Music by Aram Khachaturyan

User Reviews

Cagney in one of his best roles.

"One, Two, Three" is a marvelously, funny film. It has an energy that you can't help but get caught up in.

From the time you hear the first few bars of "The Sabre Dance" thru the final shot of James Cagney, you are on a constant roller coaster, and you don't want to get off. It is a manic, wild movie that never disappoints or lets down.

The engine that drives this lunacy is James Cagney. In one of his best, funniest and energetic performances, he is nothing short of amazing. He is a whirling dervish, at the heart of a storm that he has no control over. I don't want to give any of the story away, suffice to say that he is nothing short of spectacular. In Cameron Crowe's book on Billy Wilder, Wilder laments that Cagney was so loud and energetic at the start of the film, that his character really has nowhere to go, in terms of building, and reacting to the chaos. I would agree with that assessment, but Cagney's performance does not let the audience stop and catch it's breath long enough for this to really be a factor.

Wilder and Diamond have brought us another gem. Is there another writing team that within a span of three years, have created three better pictures than the ones they have given us (Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, One,Two,Three)? I doubt it.

Kudos all around to the supporting cast as well. Especially, Arlene Francis, as Cagney's wife, and Lilo Pulver as his secretary. Also watch for some "inside" jokes. Like when Cagney threatens Horst Buchholz with a grapefruit, and Red Buttons, in a cameo, doing a Cagney imitation.

Great fun from start to finish. 10/10