One, Two, Three (1961)

94% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(4,499 ratings)

In his last starring film (it was supposed to be his last film, but Ragtime came along in 1981), James Cagney plays Coca-Cola executive C.R. MacNamara. Assigned to manage Coke's West Berlin office, MacNamara dreams of being transferred to London, and to do this he must curry favor with his… More In his last starring film (it was supposed to be his last film, but Ragtime came along in 1981), James Cagney plays Coca-Cola executive C.R. MacNamara. Assigned to manage Coke's West Berlin office, MacNamara dreams of being transferred to London, and to do this he must curry favor with his Atlanta-based boss, Hazeltine (Howard St. John). Thus, MacNamara agrees to look after Hazeltine's dizzy, impulsive daughter, Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin), during her visit to Germany. Weeks pass, and on the eve of Hazeltine's visit to West Berlin, Scarlett announces that she's gotten married. Even worse, her husband is a hygienically challenged East Berlin Communist named Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz). The crafty MacNamara arranges for Piffl to be arrested by the East Berlin police and to have the marriage annulled, only to discover that Scarlett is pregnant. In rapid-fire "one, two, three" fashion, MacNamara must arrange for Piffl to be released by the Communists and successfully pass off the scrungy, doggedly anti-capitalist Piffl as an acceptable husband for Scarlett. MacNamara must accomplish this in less than 12 hours, all the while trying to mollify his wife (Arlene Francis), who has learned of his affair with busty secretary Ingeborg (Lilo Pulver). Seldom pausing for breath, Billy Wilder's film is a crackling, mile-a-minute farce, taking satiric scattershots at Coca-Cola, the Cold War (the film is set in the months just before the erection of the Berlin Wall), Russian red tape, Communist and capitalist hypocrisy, Southern bigotry, the German "war guilt," rock music, and even Cagney's own movie image. Not all the gags are in the best of taste, and most of the one-liners have dated rather badly, but Cagney's mesmerizing performance holds the whole affair together. Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond adapted their screenplay from an obscure play by Ferenc Molnár. Watch for Red Buttons in an unbilled cameo as a military policeman, and listen for the voice of Sig Rumann, emanating from the mouth of actor Hubert Von Meyerinck (the Count von Droste-Schattenburg). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Genres: Drama, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1961 Wide
On DVD: Jul 15, 2003
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
The screenplay, based on a one-act play by Ferenc Molnar, is outstanding.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
The pace is blistering, and Wilder's deep-seated hatred of Germans has never been put to more comic use.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
One, Two, Three celebrates as it satirizes American cultural imperialism.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
It is one with which you can laugh -- with its own impudence toward foreign crises -- while laughing at its rowdy spinning jokes.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
One of [Wilder's] very best films.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It would be better to watch this alone as the sound of chuckling in a theater will drown out many of the clever lines.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The targets of Wilder's satire--a vulgar American capitalist culture and an outdated Russian Communist culture--are too obvious to be that funny.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Marvellous one-liners, of course, and Cagney, spitting out his lines with machine-gun rapidity...
Tony Medley, tonymedley.com
Agreeable comedy
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Cagney & Co. shine in Wilder's Cold War comedy
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Wilder crafted what may well be his funniest movie with One, Two, Three. It's certainly his fastest-paced film.
, Film4
A frantic satire from Wilder, this is a manic and hilariously funny ride into the madness of the cold war.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
The last hour of the film is an exhilarating, exhausting series of gags, chases and twists that will have you glued to your TV.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Fast and funny, but very stagey, satire of Cold War politics.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
This Cold War comedy may not be either Billy Wilder's or James Cagney's subtlest work, but it's an energetic and sometimes unsettling exercise in brash bad taste.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Pierluigi P

Caustic eyes of Billy Wilder set on west Berlin in the cold war. James Cagney shines at spitting Wilder's trademark cunning and sometimes mean spirited dialogue all over the place. Wilder said once "If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill… More
Caustic eyes of Billy Wilder set on west Berlin in the cold war. James Cagney shines at spitting Wilder's trademark cunning and sometimes mean spirited dialogue all over the place. Wilder said once "If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you." that was never truer than here...
Randy T

Cold war comedy about a Coca-Cola executive stuck in Berlin and saddled with the responsibility of corralling the boss's wayward daughter. James Cagney makes the film's rapidly paced repartee look easy when, in fact, few actors could have handled it so well. An amusing, if… More
Cold war comedy about a Coca-Cola executive stuck in Berlin and saddled with the responsibility of corralling the boss's wayward daughter. James Cagney makes the film's rapidly paced repartee look easy when, in fact, few actors could have handled it so well. An amusing, if not earth shattering, offering from the late, great Billy Wilder.
Red L

It is pretty funny to see Jimmy Cagney running through his lists in this film. I have seen three of these 50-year-old highly-rated black and white films in the past week, and all are directed by Billy Wilder. Is he the only director of that era?
Ken S

Like the Bird Cage...only with communists
Stella D

wonderful underseen comic gem from billy wilder. terrific performance from cagney with able support from the whole cast. full of rapid-fire dialogue and inside jokes; a time capsule from the cold war that must have seemed scandalous in 1961. an absolute delight!
Danny R

The great James Cagney is a laugh riot in this hilariously zany classic, beautifully directed by Billy Wilder. About a Coca-Cola executive stationed in West Berlin during the Cold War, who does a favor for his boss, by looking after his visiting daughter played delightfully by Pamela… More
The great James Cagney is a laugh riot in this hilariously zany classic, beautifully directed by Billy Wilder. About a Coca-Cola executive stationed in West Berlin during the Cold War, who does a favor for his boss, by looking after his visiting daughter played delightfully by Pamela Triffin. But when he learns that she has gone and secretly married a fierce young communist played wonderfully by Horst Buchholz and that his boss will be arriving in 24 hours to pick her up, he must come up with a plan, before all hell breaks loose. Fine supporting performances by Arlene Francis, Liselotte Pulver, Howard St. John, Hanns and Leon Askin. But this is Cagney's show all the way, and he is a absolute comic marvel and delivers one of the finest, funniest, and most breathlessly machine-gun-paced performances of his distinguished career. Cagney took a 20 year hiatus after appearing in "One, Two, Three" before returning to the big screen in 1981 for his final role in Milos Forman's Ragtime. Highly Recommended.
cody f

This movie is so good, it made Cagney Quit.

Read all 7 featured audience ratings

Cast

            James Cagney as C.R. MacNamara

            Horst Buchholz as Otto Ludwig Piffl

            Pamela Tiffin as Scarlett Hazeltine

            Arlene Francis as Phyllis MacNamara

            Liselotte Pulver as Ingeborg

            Howard St. John as Hazeltine

            Hanns Lothar as Schlemmer

            Lois Bolton as Mrs. Hazeltine

            Leon Askin as Peripetchikoff

            Peter Capell as Mishkin

            Ralf Wolter as Borodenko

            Karl Lieffen as Fritz

            Henning Schlüter as Dr. Bauer

            Til Kiwe as Reporter

            Karl Ludwig Lindt as Zeidlitz

            John Allen as Tommy MacNamara

            Chris Allen as Cindy MacNamara

            Rose Renee Roth as Bertha

            Helmut Schmidt as East German Police Corporal

            Otto Friebel as East German Interrogator

            Klaus Becker as Policeman

            Max Buchsbaum as Tailor

            Red Buttons as Military Police Sergeant

            Hubert von Meyerinck as Count Von Droste-Schattenburg

            Jasper VonOertzen as Haberdasher
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