On Sunday, August 13th, 1961, the eyes of America were on the nation's capital, where Roger Maris was hitting home runs 44 and 45 against the Senators. On that same day, without any warning, the East German Communists sealed off the border between East and West Berlin. I only mention this to show the kind of people we're dealing with - REAL SHIFTY!

- C.R. MacNamara

One, Two, Three, a comedy by Billy Wilder, plays in Berlin of 1961, at the height of the cold war, just before the Berlin Wall was built and the Berlin Airlift took place. It's basically a screwball comedy and a farce on the relationship between East and West and the cultural differences between them, along with ironic insinuations about World War II and people's past in Nazi Germany¹.

Plot

C.R. MacNamara (James Cagney) presides over the German Coca-Cola branch, located in Berlin, but he is hoping to become head of the European headquarters in London. One day, instead of being promoted, he is asked by the Coca-Cola boss to take care of his daughter, Scarlet Hazeltine (Pamela Tiffin), who's visiting Europe.

It turns out that Miss Hazeltine is not the respectable girl she is supposed to be, and MacNamara finds out one morning that she spends most nights out, dating a young, good-looking flaming communist named Otto Ludwig Piffl (Horst Buchholz²) from East Berlin. In fact, they are already married and planning to move to Moscow.

There's the old Russian proverb: 'Go west young man.'


- Peripetchikoff, Moscow Soft Drink Secretariat

Knowing that this would be rather career-limiting for him if his boss ever finds out, MacNamara sees to it that the marriage is annulled and schemes for Otto being arrested in East Berlin. When Scarlet gets to know this, she faints, a doctor is called and it turns out she's pregnant.

Otto: 'I will not have my son grow up to be a capitalist!'

Scarlet: 'When he's 18 he can make his mind up whether he wants to be a capitalist or a rich communist.'

To further complicate matters, Mr and Mrs Hazeltine are to arrive on the next day to visit their little girl. Supposedly, they will not be amused to find out she's pregnant from a communist currently sitting in an East German prison. To get out of this, MacNamara mobilises everything. He gets Otto out of prison with the help of his secretary Ingeborg (Lilo Pulver) and the Moscow Soft Drink Secretariat, gets him a noble origin (Count Otto von Droste-Schattenburg), teaches him basic table manners and converts him to capitalism. Just in time, as the Hazeltines arrive in Berlin, he could present a respectable son-in-law.

The only thing that does not turn out as planned, is, MacNamara isn't promoted head of the European headquarters:

MacNamara: 'I'm going to Atlanta.'

Phyllis MacNamara: 'Atlanta!'

MacNamara: 'Yeah, I'm the new vice president in charge of bottle caps. They're kicking me upstairs.'

Phyllis MacNamara: 'That's something I've always wanted to do myself.'

Background

During shooting on location in Berlin 1961, the Berlin Wall was built. This was something that couldn't be expected, and, as a result, the Brandenburg Gate seen in the film is not the real one but was a built set in a studio. Also, Billy Wilder had to rework the opening lines of the film, as seen in the quote at the top of this entry.

The historical events of 1961 and following concerning the separation of East and West Germany were of such significance for the people that nobody could stand seeing a comedy film on this topic, be it a good film or not. Thus, the film was a flop. The film finally got the attention it deserved when it was re-released in 1985, and it now enjoys cult status, at least in Germany.

Seeing how One, Two, Three mocks everything from Capitalism, Communism, America's corporate culture, Southernism, Germany's Nazi past and everything else, it is still a mystery how Coca-Cola could be persuaded to co-operate at that time.

Highlights

Any world that can produce the Taj Mahal, William Shakespeare, and striped toothpaste can't be all bad.

- MacNamara

Like many Billy Wilder films like, for instance Some Like it Hot, One, Two, Three lives on dialogue and on the actors' performance. Here it is James Cagney who delivers one of his best performances. Most of the supporting actors are German, as the film was shot in Germany, and most of them never had a second chance to play in a Hollywood movie with a director of Wilder's calibre.

MacNamara: 'Just between us, Schlemmer, what did you do during the war?'

Schlemmer (MacNamara's assistant): 'I was in der Untergrund: the underground.'

MacNamara: 'Resistance fighter?'

Schlemmer: 'No, motorman. In the underground, you know, the subway.'

The other truly remarkable thing is the pacing of the film and the rapid fire in which the lines are delivered. It's an up-tempo film and it never slows down, so it is possible to see the movie for the tenth time and to discover things you haven't noticed before³. For many, One, Two, Three is the best Billy Wilder comedy ever. See the film.