James Cagney tries to sell Coke-a-Cola to the Soviets in “One, Two, Three”

One, Two, Three (1961) is an American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Lilo Pulver, Pamela Tiffin, and Arlene Francis. The screenplay was written by Wilder and frequent partner I.A.L. Diamond. The music is by Andre Previn and the cinematography is by Daniel L. Fapp who won an Academy Award for West Side Story (1961).

C.R. “Mac” MacNamara (Cagney) is an executive with the Coca-a-Cola Company, based in West Berlin during the early days of the Cold War. He was sent there after a business failure in the Middle East. Still bitter over the demotion, Mac is determined to become head of the Western European operations in London. While attempting to introduce Coke to the Soviet Union, Mac’s boss asks him to look after his seventeen-year-old daughter Scarlett (Tiffin) when she arrives in Berlin.

Looking for a “marvy” time in Berlin her trip to Europe wasn’t any fun for her. Scarlett goes out every night, unbeknownst Mac and his wife Phyllis (Francis). Every night, Scarlett would sneak over to East Berlin where she met a Russian Communist named Otto (Buchholz). She falls in love with him and they get married. Then, she declares she’s pregnant!

What will Mac do when Scarlett’s parents come to Berlin to take her home to Georgia?

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

Billy Wilder (far left), Pamela Tiffin, James Cagney, and Horst Buchholz

James Cagney (1899 – 1986) was an American actor of stage and film. During the early 1930s, Cagney emerged as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in films like The Public Enemy (1931), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and White Heat (1949). Cagney was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, winning for Yankee Doodle Dandy. His other Best Actor nominations was for Angels with Dirty Angels, and Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day. Cagney retired from acting in 1961 but came out of retirement 20 years later for a role in the movie Ragtime (1981).

Horst Buchholz (1933 - 2003) was a German actor who was once called “the German James Dean” was an international movie star and voice artist. In America, he starred in The Magnificent Seven (1960), One, Two Three (1961). He starred opposite Leslie Caron in Fanny (1961) and Nine Hours to Rama (1963). He’s almost as famous for the roles that got away. He was offered the roles of Tony in West Side Story (1961) and Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) but scheduling conflicts prevented him from starring in those films.

Pamela Tiffin (1942 – 2020) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was discovered by producer Hal Wallace while she was on a tour of Paramount Studios. She was given a screen test and was cast in the film version of Summer and Smoke (1961). Her next film was Billy Wilder’s One, Two, Three (1961). Wilder caller her “the biggest find since Audrey Hepburn.” She was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her first two roles. Other roles followed in State Fair (1962), Come Fly with Me (1963), The Pleasure Seekers (1963). She made two films with James Darren geared for the teen audience: For Those Who Think Young (1964) and The Lively Set (1964). In 1965 she co-starred with Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, and Jim Hutton in The Hallelujah Trail. She also co-starred with Paul Newman in Harper (1966). In 1967, she won a Theatre World Award for her performance in Dinner at Eight on Broadway.

Arlene Francis (1907 – 2001) was an American stage, television, and film actress. Her career spanned more than five decades. Francis also gained fame as a radio personality in New York City. She made her film debut in 1932 in Murders in the Rue Morgue. Sixteen years later, she appeared with Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster in the film version of All My Sons (1948). Perhaps her greatest claim to fame was as a weekly panelist on the popular game show What My Line (1950 – 1967). Francis’s last film role was in Fedora (1978) directed by Billy Wilder. She earlier worked for the director in One, Two, Three playing James Cagney’s wife.

 

One, Two, Three trivia

• The film lost money due to folks thinking the Cold War wasn’t a good subject for comedy at that time.
• Joan Crawford (then on the board of Pepsi) didn’t like the Coke-Cola connection. At the end of the film, Cagney buys four Cokes but the last one out of the machine was a Pepsi.
• The building of the Berlin Wall impacted filming with the crew moving to Munich, building the lower half of the Brandenburg Gate.
• James Cagney hated working with Horst Buchholz. Cagney complained that he was uncooperative and was always trying to steal scenes. It was so unpleasant for Cagney that he retired from movies until he accepted a supporting role in Ragtime.
• In 1985, the film was rereleased in France and Germany and was a big hit.
• There are many homages to other Wilder and Cagney films. Can you name some?

 

Click HERE to join the discussion on Zoom, April 1, 2024, 6:30 p.m. Once you RSVP, you will receive and invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube.

 

Discussion questions

1. Can you understand why the film wasn’t well received when first released? Why do you think the film is now considered a classic by many?
2. This was Cagney’s last film before appearing Ragtime (1985). What did you think of his performance?
3. Horst Buchholz was reportedly a thorn in Cagney and Wilder’s side. What did you think of his performance?
4. Wilder was really high on Pamela Tiffin as Scarlett, comparing her to Audrey Hepburn. Some people might declare “blasphemy” with this comparison. What do you think?
5. Is there anything that is still relevant between the Capitalist and Communist systems?
6. The film is loaded with great dialogue; did you have a favorite line or scene?

Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster star in "All My Sons"

All My Sons (1948) is based on the play by Arthur Miller which ran on Broadway from January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and ran for 328 performances. The film was directed by Irving Reis and starred Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster. Other members of the cast include Louisa Horton, Mady Christians, Howard Duff, Arlene Francis, and Harry Morgan.

Joe Keller has built a manufacturing business that he hopes his son, Chris (Lancaster), will one day take over. But Chris has other plans. He wants to marry Ann Deever (Horton), who was once engaged to his brother, Larry, who was missing in action during World War II and presumed dead. Kate Keller refuses to believe her son is dead and has his room exactly as he left it, even going so far as to polish his shoes on a regular basis.

Ann's father and Joe Keller were partners in a plant that manufactured airplane parts for the military. An investigation determined that the company sold the government defective equipment. It was determined that the partners sold the parts knowing they were defective. Ann's father was convicted and sent to prison but Joe was exonerated. However, there has always been some doubt as to whether or not Joe was also responsible for the faulty airplane parts. This doubt hangs heavy over the Keller home and endangers Chris's relationship with Ann and his father.

When all the secrets are revealed, will the Keller family survive?

Irving Reis (1906 - 1953) was an American writer, producer, and director of both radio plays and motion pictures. Reis got his start as a photographer, eventually photographing publicity stills for various movie studios. He went to Hollywood and became a screenwriter at Paramount in 1938. From Paramount, he went to RKO where he directed the box office hit The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. Other films he directed include Enchantment  (1948), and The Four Poster (1952). Reis's died of cancer at the age of 47; he left a widow and three children.

Edward G. Robinson (1893 – 1973) was an American actor on the stage and screen. Robinson is a true legend from Hollywood’s Golden Age where he starred in the gangster classic Little Caesar (1931), Kid Galahad (1937), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), The Sea Wolf (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Key Largo (1948). Robinson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1973, but he was never nominated for a competitive Oscar.

Burt Lancaster (1913- 1994) was an American actor and producer. He won a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in Elmer Gantry (1960). Lancaster made his film debut in The Killers (1946). After the release of that film, he was on his way as a leading man, starring in quick succession Desert Fury (1947), Brute Force (1947), Variety Girl (1947), I Walk Alone (1947), All My Sons (1948), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). Other popular films starring Lancaster include The Flame and the Arrow (1950), Jim Thorpe All-American (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), The Rose Tattoo (1955), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962).

Lousia Horton and Burt Lancaster

Why watch this film?

• It's a good film version of Arthur Miller's award-winning play.
• Edward G. Robinson delivers a great performance.
• Burt Lancaster put off making another film he was committed to because he wanted the role of Chris Keller.
• This was the film debut of Louisa Horton (Ann) who was married to director George Roy Hill (The Sting).
• The opportunity to see Arlene Francis early in her career and two years before she would become an icon on the television game show What's My Line.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

Discussion questions:

1. Some critics have considered this movie a film noir. What category of film would you classify it as?
2. What did you think of Edward G. Robinson's performance in this film compared with his performance in The Red House?
3. Burt Lancaster really wanted to play Chris Keller; what did you make of his performance?
4. What did you think of the supporting cast? Any standouts?
5. Did this film have a theme? If so, what is it?

To join the discussion on February 7, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a Zoom link to the discussion online.