One, Two, Three (1961)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Ferenc Molnár (play)
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 December 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Berlin | Coca Cola | Communist | Germany | Monocle

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations

Cast

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 (chauffeur)
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

Also Known As:

Eins, zwei, drei (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Ahat, Shtaim, Shalosh (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Cupido Não Tem Bandeira (Brazil) [pt]
Egy, kettö, három (Hungary) [hu]
En, to, tre og et lillebitte hop (Denmark) [da]
Ett, två, tre (Sweden) [sv]
Um, Dois, Três (Portugal) [pt]
Un, deux, trois (France) [fr]
Uno, dos, tres (Spain) [es]
Uno, due, tre! (Italy) [it]
Yks', kaks', kolme (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

115 min | Finland:108 min (1962) (banned version) | Canada:108 min (Ontario) | UK:108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-12 (1986) | Finland:(Banned) (1962) (1966) (1969) | USA:Approved (PCA #20106) | UK:U | Australia:G | Sweden:11 | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

At the "Grand Hotel Potemkin", the band plays the song "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (in German of course). This song is used in Billy Wilder's previous film, Sabrina (1954)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the shots from the west side of the Brandenburg Gate, a sign is shown reading: "ACHTUNG! YOU ARE NOW LEAVING WEST BERLIN." No such sign, in mixed German and English, was ever posted in Berlin. The signs advising that one was leaving or entering one of the four sectors of the divided city were all written in four languages: German, English, French and Russian. Apart from its factual inaccuracy, it would make no sense to post a sign written partially in one language and partially in another.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References "Gunsmoke" (1955)

Soundtrack:

Sabre Dance

Wilder and Cagney at their peak.

This, and not Doctor Strangelove, is the supreme satire of the Cold War. From Cagney's hilarious opening narration, to its wonderful punch line, this masterpiece sustains a comic pace and energy that would almost no active film maker could hope to equal. The interrogation of Piffle is unforgettable, as is the meeting between Cagney and the commissars in the beer hall. In a word-MAGNIFICENT.