Rating: 
Summary: Cold War critique really attack on Hollywood.
Review: 'One Two Three' purports to be a daring exposure of America's hypocritical relationship with Communism during the Cold War, the way it needed it both as a dark double, and as a repository for doing things it wouldn't have been good publicity to do itself.But it also, over a decade before 'The Godfather', shows how big business, gangsterism and fascism are connected,and which it does by framing the film as a commentary on Jimmy Cagney's career, from liberal to conservative, from transgressive thug (e.g. 'The Public Enemy') to soft drinks executive. The film's famed narrative speed accurately embodies capitalism's (especially Hollywood's) bulldozing indefatigability. Patchy, but often hilarious.
Rating: 
Summary: 1-2-3
Review: a firework of subtle irony. hitting the character of post-war people in a divided world and city (berlin, 1961). excellent actors. caricature of simple ideoligical patterns. high-speed, high-level comedy. in one word: "kult". must see!
Rating:
Summary: One of Cagney's Best
Review: A great film that no one's ever heard of, but it's one of Cagney's best. If you are a Cagney fan, but have only seen his high profile films like "White Heat" or "Yankee Doodle Dandy", you owe it to yourself to see his amazing tour de force as a Coca Cola executive in Berlin trying desperately to hold things together while his world crumbles around him. Great political satire skewers the collapsed Third Reich and Communism alike, but the humor is accessible even if you only have a passing knowledge of the ideology involved. Many of the characters do come off as one-dimensional stereotypes, especially the ex-nazis and communists, but this is really Cagney's show and he's the center of attention. Lightning-quick dialogue and gags will have you using your pause and rewind buttons throughout this film; my one complaint is that the video is the old "cropped for television" version of the film, from the days before pan-and-scan. Hopefully someone will produce a wide-screen version someday(on dvd, I hope). Play it safe and rent it first, but this is one film I would recommend buying, as I have watched my copy many times.
Rating: 
Summary: Have a Coke and a laugh!
Review: A very funny and witty comedy about the Cold War, European customs, and American business overseas. James Cagney is brilliant in his last starring role as the head of Coca Cola's West Berlin bottling plant. For years, Cagney made his fame portraying criminals and tough guys; but comedy has provided an acting niche for him. This film is purely entertaining from beginning to end with the only flaw being its filming in black and white. The filmmakers should have gone ahead and spent the extra money to film it in color.
Rating:
Summary: An overlooked gem.
Review: A zany, madcap film that I caught on TV a while ago and became enamored with. Wilder's sharp direction and Cagney's top-notch performance give the film the needed oompah to rush it to the rapid fire ending. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Schlemmer !!!
Review: Absolutely hilarious! If you've always wanted to see James Cagney in a comedy role, you must buy this! All the supporting actors/actresses are great, as well. The supporting German cast will keep you in stitches, especially Hanns Lothar as the dutiful and somewhat neurotic Schlemmer. One, Two, Three is a fast-paced comedy which is full of great one-liners and comedy action from beginning to end. I grew up in a German family and so
I find this movie all the more entertaining. You'll want to watch this one over and over! Great entertainment you can enjoy with the entire family. And you'll never look at a bottle of Coca
Cola the same way again. Mach Mal Pause!!
Rating:
Summary: That Rare, Rare Bird: A Genuine Farce
Review: After films like "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" and their various spinoffs, today's audience may think it knows what a farce is but in truth, it hasn't a clue. In fact, genuine farce is a rare thing and probably the toughest of comedy genres to pull off. Few directors nowadays have the guts to take one on because they know the odds are against them (Speilberg never attempted another after 1941 flopped.) Only a handful of titles qualify as the genuine item, among them: Bringing Up Baby, Asenic and Old Lace, His Girl Friday, and more recent examples like What's Up, Doc? and A Fish Called Wanda. One Two Three may be one of the purest representations of farce ever put on film. Try to imagine pure comic chaos operating to the ticking beat of a swiss watch and you begin to get an idea of what the film is like - and it's like no other. A spectacular melding of form and theme, the film's stylized hyper-kinetic precision is a sly satire of corporate culture and its vaunted dream of machine-like efficiency. The spirit, however, is pure anarchy. A truly amazing comedy which deserves to be rediscovered.
Rating:
Summary: Cagney at his best in Berlin before the wall
Review: An ambitious American Coca-Cola executive in Berlin is a promising plot line which James Cagney and an excellent cast turn into a great comedy film. There are numerous small points that please the eye and add to the enjoyment of the film. The office staff springing to attention each time "the boss" enters the room is great. The administrative assistant who relexively clicks his heels each time Cagney addresses him - he barely resists the stiff armed salute, is another pleasing sequence. Cagney's passionate pursuit of his secretary is equally fun to watch - you realize that his wife will ultimately know, which adds to the fun and sense of inevitability. Tasked with keeping an eye on his bosses daughter, who is mostly occupied with chasing boys, becomes Cagney's all consuming passion and concern. His total inability to carry out this task is what makes this movie so amusing. He can control Coca-Cola operations in Europe, but not a teenaged girl. Cagney's East German/Soviet Bloc opponents read like the "usual suspects" in send up movies, but they all work well in thier quest for the secret formula that makes Coke so successful. Cagney's cataloging of their failed attempts is side-spliotting. The double talk and double dealing is non-stop and excellently done and just adds to the fun of the film. This is a film that is little known but it shouldn't be. Made at the end of Cagney's career, it highlights just how versatile he was as an actor and what a great comedic actor he was. Anyone with an interest in Cagney would enjoy this film and view it more than once. This is also a chance to see Berlin before it was altered and changed by the erection of the Berlin Wall which was erected not too long after this film was made. It is Berlin as it once was and might be again.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious Comedy Classic - On DVD at last!
Review: Berlin 1961; weeks before "The Wall" was built. The contrast between East & West was never portrayed in a more black/white comparison. James Cagney is the ultimate "Capitalist"; Horst Buchholz the 110% "Communist". Add a beautiful 17-year old Southern Belle Executive's Daughter, Cagney's super sexy "bilingual" blond secretary, and an international cast of comedic actors, along with several "international incidents", and you have one of the best comedies Hollywood has ever produced! This movie is in my personal all-time top 10! Most of the brilliantly talented people involved with this fantastic film are no longer with us. With DVD technology, generations still unknown will be able to enjoy this pure cinema candy!*****
Rating:
Summary: 2nd Funniest Movie by the Great Billy...
Review: Billy Wilder made the great comedy "Some Like it Hot" in 1959. The following year, he broke Academy records by winning THREE Oscars for "The Apartment" (Writer, Director, Producer); his next film brought James Cagney his (almost) last role, a role that exhausted him (& the audience) so much he said he'd never make another film (1981's RAGTIME brought him out of retirement for a small role). It's almost impossible to imagine that he was having nothing but fun. Truth is, Cagney was having problems remembering lines, Wilder was pushing him (not unlike Monroe) and wringing out of him the most energetic performance I've ever seen. Subtlety, social comment, outrageous events--all staples of a Wilder film--were wrought with the complete insanity taken way over the top. The plot, involving Coca Cola's executive in Berlin in 1961, revolved around family life and corporate BS, and has to be one of the most frantic & enjoyable experiences, not to mention, breathless. Brilliant black & white Panavision photography by Daniel L. Fapp was Oscar nominated, but the rapid-fire, (often improvised) screenplay by Wilder & regular collaborator, I.A.L. Diamond was ignored by the Academy, as well as Cagney's incredible performance. The acting, besides Cagney, is acceptable; Pamela Tiffen & Horst Buchholz only had to look pretty and very affected, in which case their over-acting was appropriate. Arlene Francis seemed to be the "grounded force", keeping things a bit down to earth with droll humor. But the real acting support came from the lovely & wonderful Lilo Pulver and the agile Hanns Lothar. Leon Askin, a character actor so often in unrecognizable roles, is again brilliant here. The scenes at the Grand Hotel Potemkin are hilarious, and seeing Hanns Lothar in drag is something to behold! This film is so very important, on so many levels. Wilder laughed directly in the face of East German officials and methods; it was made because of the building of the Berlin wall; it showed Capitalism as a pleasant alternative to what was going on there; family crises were dealt wit seriously; extra-marital nonsense was treated as just that; Cagney's junior-Megalomania is treated justly; and the bottom line is that love conquers all, and, as Cagney/Wilder says "It's what makes our system work...everybody owes everybody..." A treat for all. If you haven't seen this, TREAT YOURSELF!! There's also a running gag, "Totally unacceptable...full of holes", which I still haven't figured out, and I've seen this film at least 50 times.
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