This frenetic comedy is not for everyone, but if you can remember pill box hats and Berlin before the Wall, you will probably love it. The one-liners come fast and furious as all the actors shout their lines, and the "Sabre Dance" is the background music for the non-stop physical humor. Cagney hams it up as the harried Coca Cola boss who barks orders to his ex-nazi assistant and keeps wife Arlene Francis from leaving him. Tiffin, a teen icon at the time, floats through the movie in a Southern-belle haze, mostly ogling handsome Horst Buchholz, who plays her commie beatnik husband, Otto. The supporting cast is full of German and Russian stereotypes of the period who race around at breakneck speed trying to make Otto into a respectable husband.

If you liked the wacky political humor that was popular at the time, you'll enjoy this very funny comedy, filmed in glorious black and white.

hilariously funny
Review date: 2004-10-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three" was at the time of release in 1961 not extremely sucessful. The cold war was in full swing. Taking ot the micky of Americans, Russians and Germans in the post-war-period was properly too close to reality and too difficult to stomach for the general public. This is understandable as one should not forget that the Berlin Wall, the barrier surrounding West Berlin and symbol of the Cold War, was built on August 13, 1961, the very year of the release of this movie. Having been raised in West-Berlin and having lived most of my life with the Berlin Wall I am especially sensitive to this. The movie shows a divided Berlin but without a wall - now we are in a united Berlin!!
Otherwise the movie is hilariously funny and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love the parody of the Russians, Germans and Americans. Should we laugh a bit more about us and take things less serious....
5 stars are well deserved

a late success
Review date: 2004-09-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three" was at the time of release in 1961 not extremely sucessful. The cold war was in full swing. Taking ot the micky of Americans, Russians and Germans in the post-war-period was properly too close to reality and too difficult to stomach for the general public. This is understandable as one should not forget that the Berlin Wall, the barrier surrounding West Berlin and symbol of the Cold War, was built on August 13, 1961, the very year of the release of this movie. Having been raised in West-Berlin and having lived most of my life with the Berlin Wall I am especially sensitive to this. The movie shows a divided Berlin but without a wall - now we are in a united Berlin!!
Otherwise the movie is hilariously funny and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love the parody of the Russians, Germans and Americans. Should we laugh a bit more about us and take things less serious....
5 stars are well deserved

Hilariously funny
Review date: 2004-09-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three" was at the time of release in 1961 not extremely sucessful. The cold war was in full swing. Taking ot the micky of Americans, Russians and Germans in the post-war-period was properly too close to reality and too difficult to stomach for the general public. This is understandable as one should not forget that the Berlin Wall, the barrier surrounding West Berlin and symbol of the Cold War, was built on August 13, 1961, the very year of the release of this movie. Having been raised in West-Berlin and having lived most of my life with the Berlin Wall I am especially sensitive to this. The movie shows a divided Berlin but without a wall - now we are in a united Berlin!!

Otherwise the movie is hilariously funny and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love the parody of the Russians, Germans and Americans. Should we laugh a bit more about us and take things less serious....

5 stars are well deserved!!

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