One, Two, Three
Billy Wilder's Explosive New Comedy
1961 | 109m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Billy Wilder |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond |
| Staring: |
| 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. | |
| Release Date: | Dec 15, 1961 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Billy Wilder |
| Writer: | Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond |
| Genres: | Comedy |
| Keywords | berlin, germany, prison, capitalism, clerk, cold war, capitalist, soviet union, iron curtain, totalitarian regime, pregnancy, east berlin, west berlin, wedding, american abroad, heiress, daughter of the boss, baffled, cheerful, coca-cola |
| Production Companies | The Mirisch Company, Pyramid Productions |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $4,000,000
Budget: $3,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 05, 2026 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Ralf Wolter | Borodenko |
| Karl Lieffen | Fritz |
| Hubert von Meyerinck | Count von Droste Schattenburg |
| Loïs Bolton | Melanie Hazeltine |
| Peter Capell | Mishkin |
| Til Kiwe | Reporter |
| Henning Schlüter | Dr. Bauer |
| Karl Ludwig Lindt | Zeidlitz |
| Red Buttons | MP Sergeant (uncredited) |
| Christine Allen | Cindy MacNamara (uncredited) |
| John Allen | Tommy MacNamara (uncredited) |
| John Banner | Krause / Haberdasher (voice) (uncredited) |
| Max Buchsbaum | Tailor (uncredited) |
| Werner Buttler | East German Policeman (uncredited) |
| Paul Bös | Krause (uncredited) |
| Josef Coesfeld | Hairdresser (uncredited) |
| Siegfried Dornbusch | East German Policeman (uncredited) |
| Gernot Duda | Suitcase Salesman (uncredited) |
| Otto Friebel | Interrogator (uncredited) |
| Friedrich Hollaender | Conductor at Grand Hotel (uncredited) |
| Rose Renée Roth | Berta (uncredited) |
| Sig Ruman | Count von Droste Schattenburg (voice) (uncredited) |
| Helmut Schmid | East German Policeman (uncredited) |
| Jaspar von Oertzen | Haberdasher (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Billy Wilder | Screenplay, Director |
| Daniel L. Fapp | Director of Photography |
| I. A. L. Diamond | Screenplay |
| Daniel Mandell | Editor |
| Tom Pevsner | Assistant Director |
| André Previn | Conductor |
| Ferenc Molnár | Theatre Play |
| Milt Rice | Special Effects |
| Werner Fischer | Production Manager |
| Richard Carruth | Music Editor |
| Conrad von Molo | Production Supervisor |
| Lothar Winkler | Still Photographer |
| William A. Calihan Jr. | Production Manager |
| Del Harris | Sound Effects Editor |
| André Smagghe | Second Unit Director |
| May Wale Brown | Continuity |
| Alexandre Trauner | Art Direction |
| Basil Fenton-Smith | Sound |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Billy Wilder | Producer |
| I. A. L. Diamond | Associate Producer |
| Doane Harrison | Associate Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 15 | 24 | 9 |
| 2024 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 11 |
| 2024 | 6 | 17 | 29 | 9 |
| 2024 | 7 | 17 | 26 | 12 |
| 2024 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 8 |
| 2024 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 | 14 | 28 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 23 | 7 |
| 2024 | 12 | 11 | 22 | 6 |
| 2025 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 9 |
| 2025 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2026 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
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