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

Post-war Berlin is the microcosm of the polarization of West and East; American and Soviet. C.R. MacNamara's Coca-Cola's head of West Berlin operations, His life goes into a spin when he must deal with the visit of Scarlett Hazeltine; the 17yo spoilt daughter of his boss. On the same day Mac hears Mr. & Mrs. Hazeltine will be iarriving in a day, he also learns Scarlett's married Otto Ludwig Piffl, a staunch East German Communist. Mac also learns Scarlett's pregnant, Mac has to get Otto, and turn him into a respectable young man for the soon-to-be arriving boss... and Otto's father-in-law.

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Plot Keywords:

coca cola | berlin germany | iron curtain | secretary | communism vs capitalism | 

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Taglines:

Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 36865 delivered on 21 February 1962.

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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: [voiceover] Some of the East German police were rude and suspicious. Others were suspicious and rude.

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Connections

References Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

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Soundtracks

Yes! We Have No Bananas (Ausgerechnet Bananen)
(uncredited)
Written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn
Sung by Friedrich Hollaender in German

User Reviews

Best comedy ever!

I love this movie for a couple of reasons.

The story is originally from a play by Ferenc Molnár, who was Hungarian, like I am, so his other works are well known in my country. I love the play, and I'd give it a 9, but (I don't say this very often) the movie is much better.

It all takes place in the separated Berlin in 1961. Its about a rich man(working for a big soft drink company) of "wealth and taste", who has to look after his boss's daughter, which turns out to be a real struggle as the girl secretly marries a communist party member of the east side.

The director is our beloved Billy Wilder, who surely knew how to make a good comedy. The film doesn't have any moment without a great joke, I laughed so hard, I fell down from the sofa(not joking). The biggest difference between the play and the movie is the amount of political references and elements. Its a fight between capitalism and communism on every level, mostly by humorous conversations between the characters.

The dialogues are fantastic, and haven't lost their topicality over the years(its recommended to know about the political situation though). James Cagney steals the show as the main character, its jesting to see an actor who used to play mostly bad guys as a funny character.

I'd recommend this film to anyone. The writing, the characters, the acting are all excellent, and the humour still challenges the diaphragm.

10/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

16 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Uno, dos, tres

Filming Locations:

Brandenburger Tor, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Pyramid Productions, The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 108 min (1962) (banned) 108 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1