One, Two, Three

"Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy"

1961 1h 49m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 440

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In Cold War-era West Berlin, American Coca-Cola executive C.R. 'Mac' MacNamara is tasked with playing babysitter to his boss' spoiled 17-year-old daughter Scarlett, who proves more difficult than anticipated when she reveals that she is pregnant by a Communist.

“Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy”

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Cast

James Cagney
C.R. MacNamara
Horst Buchholz
Otto Ludwig Piffl
Pamela Tiffin
Scarlett Hazeltine
Arlene Francis
Phyllis MacNamara
Liselotte Pulver
Fräulein Ingeborg
Hanns Lothar
Schlemmer
Howard St. John
Wendell P. Hazeltine
Leon Askin
Peripetchikoff

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Languages: German, English, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Daniel Mandell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Cagney and Horst Buchholz and Pamela Tiffin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0055256 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Billy Wilder directs. Daniel L. Fapp behind the camera. Daniel Mandell cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
265 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Russian.
4Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Daniel L. Fapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Daniel Mandell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6James Cagney and Horst Buchholz and Pamela Tiffin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy".
8IMDB entry: tt0055256 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "prison", "capitalist", "berlin, germany", "capitalism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp
Editing: Daniel Mandell
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $4,000,000
Return: 133% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: One, Two, Three (1961)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Billy Wilder

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-08
★ 4/10
Amazing Cagney performance in a film that has no resonance now. C.R. MacNamara is the head of Coca-Cola's bottling interests in Germany, he is a forceful man who wants to be all that he can be. He hopes to be the head of European operations for the company and is well on his way until the teenage daughter of Coca-Cola big wig Wendell P. Hazeltine shows up and he is asked to baby-sit her for a two week trip thru the continent. I wish I could have been around to watch this on its release in 1961, for I'm sure I would of laughed my head off at the relevant jokes of the time. Full of communist bluster dialogue and jokes in keeping with the times, One, Two, Three has all the trademarks of a classic Billy Wilder/I.A.L. Diamond picture. Yet viewing it now, one finds that the jokes are tired and weary, and although the frenetic pace of the film is incredible {it really is like a scattergun exploding upon the viewers senses}, the film is something of an archaic oddity. Boasting a quite brilliant performance from James Cagney, the picture is never less than watchable, but the advent of time means the film is stuck firmly in 1961, regardless of the fine work from lead man and director alike. 6/10

Production companies