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One, Two, Three (1961)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
15 December 1961 (USA) moreTagline:
Billy Wilder's Explosive New ComedyPlot:
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. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations moreUser Comments:
Outstanding Comedy more (97 total)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 (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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
115 min | Finland:108 min (1962) (banned version) | Canada:108 min (Ontario) | UK:108 minCountry:
USAColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound 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:6Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The building of the Berlin Wall had begun in the night of August 13, 1961, right through the set at the Brandenburger Tor. The team, discovering the change in the morning, had to move to Munich to shoot the missing scenes on the parking lot of the Bavaria Film Studios, where a copy of the lower half of the Brandenburger Tor had to be built. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When James Cagney's car is checked by East German security at the Brandenburg Gate, Cagney gives a guard a six-pack of Coca Cola. After the car passes into East Berlin we see the guard open a bottle of Coca Cola by smashing the bottle neck against a sign post. When the car returns later, a guard returns the "empties" and we see that all bottles are intact. moreQuotes:
C.R. MacNamara: What were you doing in East Berlin?Scarlet: You mean last night?
C.R. MacNamara: I mean *all* those nights.
Scarlet: You see, there's this boy over there. Wow!
C.R. MacNamara: What boy? What have you been up to?
Scarlet: Well, I met him about six weeks ago. I went into East Berlin and there was this parade and they wanted to arrest me.
C.R. MacNamara: Arrest you?
Scarlet: Because I was taking pictures. And then this boy, he was in the parade, he said to the police man I shouldn't be arrested, I should be pitied, because I was a typical bourgeois parasite and the rotten fruit of a corrupt civilization. So naturally, I fell in love with him.
more
Soundtrack:
Sabre Dance moreFAQ
What does Cagney say about alligator shoes offered as possible executive attire for young Horst?more
more (97 total)
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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.