One, Two, Three (1961)

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:

Coca Cola | Communist | Germany | Cuckoo Clock | Brandenburg Gate Berlin

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]
Bir, iki, üç (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Cupido Não Tem Bandeira (Brazil) [pt]
Egy, kettö, három (Hungary) [hu]
En, to, tre og et lillebitte hop (Denmark) [da]
Ena... dyo... tria (Greece) [el]
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:

Billy Wilder made James Cagney do over 30 takes of a scene because Cagney kept saying "coat and striped pants" instead of "morning coat and striped pants."

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933)

Soundtrack:

Yes! We Have No Bananas (Ausgerechnet Bananen)

Where I come from, everyone hates the Yankees!

Just watched Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three." I had heard how hilarious it was, and I was definitely not disappointed. It's a very funny political comedy that feels like one of those screwball comedies from the 1930's or 1940's. I really enjoyed all the one-liners and great performances from...well, everyone! Maybe there are a few too many coincidences in the movie, but if I have to suspend my disbelief a little bit so that everything can work out neatly in the end, so be it! "One, Two, Three" is not a lesser movie because of it.

I've heard some people complain about this movie because Cagney yells a lot. Come on, people? Is that the best you can do? He yells a lot? Well, boo hoo, I don't wanna see the movie now. If you're the kind of person who can't accept that James Cagney plays the type of aggressive executive who yells most of his lines, then don't see this movie. In fact, if that's true of you, you don't deserve this movie. "One, Two, Three" is too good for you.

For the people who don't have single-digit IQ's, see this movie for some big laughs. Russki go home!