One, Two, Three (1961)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

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

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
Liselotte Pulver	...	Fräulein Ingeborg (as Lilo Pulver)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christine Allen	...	Cindy MacNamara (uncredited)
John Allen	...	Tommy MacNamara (uncredited)
Ivan Arnold	...	MP corporal (uncredited)
Klaus Becker	...	East German policeman (uncredited)
Paul Bös	...	Krause (uncredited)
Max Buchsbaum	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Werner Buttler	...	East German policeman (uncredited)
Red Buttons	...	MP sergeant (uncredited)
Jacques Chevalier	...	Pierre (navigator) (uncredited)
Ingrid DeToro	...	Stewardess (uncredited)
Siegfrid Dornbusch	...	East German policeman (uncredited)
Otto Friebel	...	Interrogator (uncredited)
Werner Hessenland	...	Shoeman (uncredited)
Friedrich Hollaender	...	Conductor at Grand Hotel (uncredited)
Rose Renée Roth	...	Berta (uncredited)
Sig Ruman	...	Count von Droste Schattenburg (voice) (uncredited)
Helmut Schmid	...	East German policeman (uncredited)
Abi von Hasse	...	Jeweler (uncredited)
Jaspar von Oertzen	...	Haberdasher (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Ferenc Molnár		(play "Egy, kettö, három") (as Ferenc Molnar)
Billy Wilder		(screenplay) and
I.A.L. Diamond		(screenplay)

Produced by
I.A.L. Diamond	....	associate producer
Doane Harrison	....	associate producer
Billy Wilder	....	producer

Original Music by
André Previn		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Daniel L. Fapp

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Production Design by
Robert Stratil
Heinrich Weidemann

Art Direction by
Alexandre Trauner		(as Alexander Trauner)

Production Management
William A. Calihan Jr.	....	production manager (as William Calihan)
Werner Fischer	....	production manager
Conrad von Molo	....	production supervisor (as Conrad Von Molo)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Pevsner	....	assistant director
André Smagghe	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound
Del Harris	....	sound effects editor
John Brommage	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Milt Rice	....	special effects

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor
André Previn	....	conductor
André Previn	....	music adaptor

Other crew
May Wale Brown	....	continuity (as May Wale)

Production Companies

• Mirisch Corporation, The
• Pyramid Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965) (USA) (TV)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• United Pictures Finland (1987) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Cinema Mondo (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print re-issue)

Other Companies

• Mirisch Production Company, The  presents
• Westrex Recording System  sound recording

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:

In James Cagney's autobiography, he says that Horst Buchholz was the only actor he really hated working with because he was uncooperative and tried all kinds of scene-stealing moves, which Cagney depended on Billy Wilder to correct. Had Wilder not firmly directed Bucholz, Cagney said that he "was going to knock Buchholz on his ass, which at several points I would have been very happy to do".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the Grand Hotel Potemkin scene, Peripetchikoff says "We cannot interfere with internal affairs of sovereign Republic of East Germany." The correct formal name of the country was the German Democratic Republic.

Quotes:

Peripetchikoff: While they are putting Uncle Sam in cuckoo clock, we will put Soviet cosmonaut on moon.
C.R. MacNamara: Okay, so you guys may be the first to shoot a man to the moon, but if he wants a Coke on the way, you'll have to come to us.

Movie Connections:

References Trouble in Paradise (1932)

Soundtrack:

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Outstanding Comedy

Howard Hawks usually gets the palm for the fastest dialogue in comedies but Wilder probably ties him here. This must be one of the funniest comedies to come out of Hollywood, at least during the sound era. The gags come fast -- and thick. If one doesn't work you don't have time to be disappointed because the next one is already underway.

It's one of those movies in which the gags would be spoiled if they were described to a person who hadn't yet seen the film. For the most part they are tied closely to the plot and often build on one another. But I'm compelled to give one example. Cagney is an executive in Berlin and his first-hand man is Schlemmer. Schlemmer has a habit of clicking his heels before and after addressing Cagney. At one point Cagney chews him out and asks him, "just between us," what Schlemmer did in the war. "I was in the underground," says Schlemmer. "Oh, the resistance?" "No, the underground. The subway. I was a conductor." Cagney says supiciously, "And I suppose you never were a supporter of Adolf." Schlemmer: "Adolf who? You see, I was always in the underground. They never told us anything down there."

The dialogue is shouted rather than spoken. Heels are clicked, people leap to attention, fingers are snapped, orders are flung about. The only person who doesn't run around frantically is Lilo Pulver who does not have to run to attract anyone's attention. She can simply stand still and get the job done. She's Cagney's secretary and tells him she's thinking of getting a job elsewhere as a translator. "Don't forget I am bilingual." "Don't I know it," Cagney mutters ruefully.

But I won't go on because I'll just wind up giving away more gags. Check the trivia entries too. This was Cagney's last major role and one of Wilder's best comedies. It's simply hilarious and not to be missed.