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One, Two, Three

Play trailer Poster for One, Two, Three 1961 1h 48m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
C.R. MacNamara (James Cagney) will do anything to get a promotion within the Coca-Cola company, including looking after boss W.P. Hazeltine's (Howard St. John) rebellious teenage daughter, Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin). When Scarlett visits Berlin, where C.R. is stationed, she reveals that she is married to a communist named Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz) -- and C.R. recognizes that Otto's anti-establishment stance will clash with his boss's own political views, possibly jeopardizing his promotion.
One, Two, Three

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three is an uproarious Cold War satire, offering devastating critiques of both factions with an effortless touch and a powerhouse performance from James Cagney.

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Critics Reviews

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Gwen Ihnat AV Club 06/28/2019
Past the manic frenzy of the screwball comedy are many sly nods to the frosty Cold War relations between the East and the West. Go to Full Review
Variety Staff Variety 08/15/2007
The screenplay, based on a one-act play by Ferenc Molnar, is outstanding. Go to Full Review
Don Druker Chicago Reader 08/15/2007
The pace is blistering, and Wilder's deep-seated hatred of Germans has never been put to more comic use. Go to Full Review
Pauline Kael Film Quarterly 09/11/2023
One, Two, Three is overwrought, tasteless, and offensive -- a comedy that pulls out laughs the way a catheter draws urine. Go to Full Review
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com 06/07/2022
3/5
...plays as a farce at breakneck speed, with Cagney ripping through his dialogue with real verve… Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 11/16/2021
3.5/4
Cagney performs at such a breakneck speed, it's no wonder he retired from movies immediately thereafter, only returning 20 years later for a role in 1981's Ragtime. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Clinton R @CWRoss48 Sep 28 Repeated viewing does not diminish the hilarity and glee watching Billy Wilder's outlandish take of cold-war East-West at its focal point: Berlin. James Cagney is outrageously funny amidst the collection of scatterbrained idiots working overtime to keep you laughing until it hurts. The only negatives are Arlene Francis and Pamela Tiffin; otherwise, the casting is superb! Not unlike "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" it is worth watching in the company of good laughers. Guaranteed! See more Alec B Mar 11 Not terrible but also not one of Wilder's strongest. The problem is that the frantic, zany energy and constant shouting gets exhausting. That said the movie nails how annoying young communists are. See more Merick H 12/12/2024 A fun and enjoyable farce. The speed of the dialogue does begin to wear on you as the movie progresses, but there are some good laughs and it is worth the watch. See more marc g 11/03/2024 OH MY GOD That was the funniest picture I ever saw. Billy Wilder produced, directed, and co-wrote it, absolute genius. It is the zenith of his fast paced, high energy, screwball, comedies, and James Cagney gave an absolute masterclass in comedic timing played over-the-top for big laughs. All the hijinks of Some Like It Hot and Ball of Fire, but placed in and filmed in Berlin just before the Wall. Actually, the Berlin Wall disrupted the filming and it had to be finished in a studio. The corporate climbing capitalist, Cola executive, James Cagney, while attempting to close a deal with a triumvirate of incompetent corrupt Soviet commissars to sell Coke into the USSR runs aground when his boss sends his free spirited 17 year old daughter to Berlin for him to watch. Every possible escapade you can imagine, and those you can't, leaves Cagney with so many fires to put out, it will leave you be absolutely breathless. But laughing right up to the final scene. This is an abosolute masterpiece, and will have you asking, why did they stop making movies like this. See more Lanfranco C @Lanfrancobz 11/15/2023 It is funny, but not Wilder at His best. See more Bob W 09/22/2023 This is one of my favorite movies though younger people who are not up on their Cold War history may want to hang on to their phones for explanations. Still, the frenetic pace and a super-duper tour de force semi-final performance by the great Jimmy Cagney make this first rate entertainment for people who enjoy broad satirical farces. Cagney really gives it his all...he found the experience so exhausting that he retired from the movies for a twenty years but he left it all on the screen! See more Read all reviews
One, Two, Three

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Movie Info

Synopsis C.R. MacNamara (James Cagney) will do anything to get a promotion within the Coca-Cola company, including looking after boss W.P. Hazeltine's (Howard St. John) rebellious teenage daughter, Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin). When Scarlett visits Berlin, where C.R. is stationed, she reveals that she is married to a communist named Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz) -- and C.R. recognizes that Otto's anti-establishment stance will clash with his boss's own political views, possibly jeopardizing his promotion.
Director
Billy Wilder
Producer
Billy Wilder
Screenwriter
Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists, MGM Home Entertainment
Production Co
Mirisch Films, Pyramid Productions Inc.
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 15, 1961, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
May 30, 2017
Runtime
1h 48m