One, Two, Three

This article is about the 1961 film. For the 2008 Hindi film, see One Two Three. For other uses, see 1-2-3.
One, Two, Three
Theatrical release poster by Saul Bass
Directed byBilly Wilder
Screenplay byI. A. L. Diamond
Billy Wilder
Based onEgy, kettő, három
by Ferenc Molnár
Produced byBilly Wilder
StarringJames Cagney
Horst Buchholz
Pamela Tiffin
Arlene Francis
CinematographyDaniel L. Fapp
Edited byDaniel Mandell
Music byAndré Previn
Production
companies
The Mirisch Company
Pyramid Productions, A. G.
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • December 15, 1961 (1961-12-15) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • German
  • Russian
Budget$3 million[2] or $2 million[3]
Box office$4 million[2]
Theatrical trailer.

One, Two, Three is a 1961 American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, and written by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettő, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder.[4][5] The film stars James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Liselotte Pulver, Pamela Tiffin, Arlene Francis, Leon Askin and Howard St. John.[6] It would be Cagney's last film appearance until Ragtime in 1981, 20 years later.[7][8]

The film is primarily set in West Berlin during the Cold War, but before the construction of the Berlin Wall, and politics is predominant in the premise.[9] The film is known for its quick pace.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytbosley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Tino, Balio (1987). United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-2991-1440-4.
  3. ^ "Distributors & Exhibitors Rule". Variety. October 4, 1961. p. 5. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference time61 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference time2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ One, Two, Three at IMDb.
  7. ^ Lacayo, Richard (April 14, 1986). "It Was All Big—and It Worked—James Cagney: 1899-1986". Time. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2011. It was Forman who directed Cagney in Ragtime, the 1981 film that brought him back into the public eye after two decades of retirement. After completing Billy Wilder's 1961 comedy One, Two, Three, Cagney vowed to quit filmmaking.
  8. ^ Neal Gabler (commentary), Reel 13, March 29, 2008.
  9. ^ Daum, Andreas W. (2000). "America's Berlin, 1945‒2000: Between Myths and Visions". In Trommler, Frank (ed.). Berlin: The New Capital in the East (PDF). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "One, Two, Three". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2012.