It was a little like looking at a work of art that annoyed me; yet, I could not stop looking at it.I liked the film, although I gradually became weary with Cagney's hyperactive style of acting. It can be a lot to take when I am not in the mood for his intense, quick style. On the other hand, Cagney can be an engaging actor who keeps the pace of a film moving interestingly. Cagney was in good form in this film, proving that he still had it after all the years of typical, prime roles behind him. I could not help thinking that he was an anachronism; but then, I get a kick out of that sort of thing in films.Everything else about the film was as odd as films might be in that time period of film making.

As usual,I don't want to write much about the story of this movie,because others have done that more than enough.The title of this movie-"one,two,three"-reminds you (surely not accidental) of military and let's you assume that this movie has a brisk tempo.After having watched this movie you will know that this assumption was fully justified! James Cagney is playing the choleric manager McNamara outstandingly.His play strongly reminds me of the French actor Louis de Funes,who played choleric characters so often and so convincingly.Also the other characters give a very good performance.The ever-obedient and submissive Schlemmer (Hans Lothar),the fanatic East German communist Otto Piffl (Horst Buchholz),Mc Namaras sexy secretary Fraulein Ingeborg (Liselotte Pulver),Mc Namaras sarcastic wife Phyllis (Arlene Francis),the members of the Soviet delegation...Yes,and also Pamela Tiffin.She played the "silly goose" Scarlett Hezeltine (the daughter of McNamaras boss in Atlanta),and she played her convincingly.Yes,some might not like this character,but that only proves that convincing play.I read that in the original English version she speaks with a deep southern accent,which,I presume,shall underline her character as a silly goose.Maybe that's why some people don't like Pamela Tiffin in this movie.But that's an internal matter of the U.S.I should say that in the German version of "one,two,three" the East German policemen speak with a Saxonian dialect,although the whole story takes place in Berlin and the policemen would be likely to speak the local dialect "Berlinerisch".Their Saxon dialect is a clear allusion to Walter Ulbricht,the East German political leader at that time,who spoke with a strong Saxon dialect.What concerns the national stereotypes in this movie: Yes,they are rather dumb for today.By the way,when laughing about the German's obedience in this movie you should be aware that West-Berlin (as well as East Berlin,of course) until 1990 was,different from West-Germany,a pure military regime,where,in principle,the allied commanders had nearly absolute power and the right to decide about everything (in practise the only did it if they saw a need,of course): Who had the right to enter West-Berlin,whether a hill could be used for military purposes etc. McNamaras reaction to the refusal of the West Berlin senate allowing a coca-cola vending machine in their building is an allusion to that...But don't forget that this movie is from 1961 and at that time the end of the war was only 16 and "Stalins" death only 8 years ago! And don't forget Billy Wilders personal biography.And don't forget,how,for example,South eastern Asians were portrayed in Hollywood at that time (Oh,God...)And especially-don't forget that this movie was made during the cold war.During the making of "one,two,three" unfortunately the Berlin Wall was erected (the movie mentions that at the beginning) This and all the ensuing personal tragedies surely didn't help promote this movie,and the dangerous showdown between U.S. tanks and Soviet tanks at the newly erected wall two months later eroded the interest in a parody of the cold war.To expect the people in Germany (and elsewhere) to laugh about "one,two,three" at the time the movie was released (end of 1961) is like to expect people in the U.S. and elsewhere laugh about a movie making jokes of Islamist terrorism at the end of 2001,shortly after 9/11.And don't forget,the horrific Cuban crisis was approaching in 1962.That's the reason,why "one,two,three" is not timeless.I think it's really difficult for younger people putting themselves into its atmosphere,to understand its countless allusions etc. without having experienced the cold war.At least you should have some basic knowledge about the political situation at that time,especially the one in Berlin.

If you don't like farce comedies like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Murder by Death, and The Pink Panther Strikes Again avoid this one because that is what it is. After reading most of these reviews I think people misunderstood this movie. If you compare it to a painting the cold war is just the canvas it is painted on. In reality it is about a person who just can't get things right in his career and hopefully this time around he can contain things and make it all work. Everybody else is trying to do the same thing. On the way they merge in so many references to other movies and one liners it could be considered a history of cinema. If you don't understand them the fast pace may make it difficult for you to keep up with it. But for the younger people today that get most of these references they will like its fast pace. Most movies from that time period move too slowly for them. Oh yes, I guess the McNamara curse does finally get done away with in the end. Or does it? You will have to see the end to decide that for yourself.

A genuine Cold War relic, this frenetic 1961 comedy is the film that master director Billy Wilder made right after two genuine classics, "Some Like It Hot" and "The Apartment". While it's not nearly in that league, the 61-year-old James Cagney is in top fighting form as ever-resourceful C.R. MacNamara, the head of Coca-Cola's West Berlin plant. The pugnacious screen legend went into a two-decade-long retirement after making this film which pointedly satirizes both American capitalism and Russian communism. He makes the film watchable but not necessarily essential since this sitcom-level rehash of "Ninotchka" (which Wilder co-wrote with Charles Brackett) doesn't really resonate now as much as it did when the Berlin Wall was hastily built despite all the obvious sweat in the effort. Despite the scabrous political rhetoric and Wilder's unmistakable mark, it all feels more like a period piece along the lines of a Keystone Kops comedy or Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World".Co-written by Wilder and his constant partner I.A.L. Diamond based on a one-act play by Ferenc Molnar, the story has MacNamara discovering that his Atlanta-based boss is shipping out his promiscuous seventeen-year-old daughter Scarlett for the summer. A family man with an exasperated wife and two kids, MacNamara is forced to cancel a long-planned vacation to Venice to baby-sit the Southern belle. However, before he knows it, Scarlett has become Mrs. Otto Ludwig Piffl, the wife of a die-hard Bolshevik. In the middle of brokering a deal to open a Coca-Cola plant in the Soviet Union, MacNamara contrives to get rid of Otto by having him get picked up by the secret police in East Berlin where he is tortured by the repeated playing of "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini". However, complications ensue when it is discovered that Scarlett is pregnant, which means MacNamara needs to retrieve Otto pronto and convert him into a capitalist just in time for the arrival of Scarlett's ultra-conservative parents.The indefatigable Cagney is really the whole show here as he single-handedly accelerates an addled screwball comedy into a free-for-all farce on hyper-drive. His showpiece is a ten-minute segment where he barks orders to his staff in machine-gun fashion to get Otto cleaned up and groomed for Scarlett's parents. Horst Buchholz ("Fanny") - whom both Cagney and Wilder detested during filming - is appropriately didactic as Otto, while the long-forgotten Pamela Tiffin ("Harper") plays the bubble-headed Scarlett with surprising élan. Effective on the sidelines are Lilo Pulver as the sexpot secretary, Hanns Lothar as the heel-clicking assistant, Arlene Francis as MacNamara's wisecracking wife, and in a cameo, Red Buttons as an MP not above doing a Cagney impression in front of the master. However, they all appear understandably overwhelmed by Cagney's all-cylinders-on presence. Composer André Previn orchestrated the music score which makes maximum comic use of Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance". The 2003 DVD offers the original theatrical trailer as its sole extra.