Review of One, Two, Three

Introduction

Communism coming head on with the most visible proponent of western capitalism there is, Coca-Cola, is a recipe for farce if ever there was one. James Cagney, in one of his last screen roles, plays Coke salesman "MacNamara" in Berlin. We have the Cold War during the swinging 60s and he`s trying in vain to sell Coke into Russia. While he`s doing this, he agrees to baby-sit his boss`s daughter, Scarlett, over from Atlanta on vacation; one never knows what sucking up to the boss might do for ones career. It`s easier said than done though as behind his back she falls in love with and marries a staunch Communist.

Trying to undo the marriage might be easy, but it wouldn`t do to have a kid born out of wedlock. It`s problem after problem but this doesn`t faze MacNamara in the slightest. Let`s add to this Scarlett`s parents coming over to Germany to pick her up and MacNamara`s effort to turn this hardcore Bolshevik into an aristocratic Capitalist, to please his boss of course. Heaven only knows what the head of Coke might think of his new son-in-law if he found out who he really was.

Video

Presented with a 2.35:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer, One, Two, Three`s black & white image looks good. Blacks are nice and dark with a well-balanced grey scale throughout. Detail is good and the film suffers only slightly from some of the usual dust. There aren`t any signs of compression or other problem; One, Two, Three is a pleasure to watch.

Audio

The English mono soundtrack is well placed across the front speakers with good clear dialogue. All sound and music comes out well and the film has a few foreign languages added for good measure.

Features

None.

Conclusion

One, Two, Three is a frenetic and wonderfully rendered comedy in true Billy Wilder style. Watching the cast reel off punch lines, gags, puns and making fun of communism and capitalism while keeping straight faces is a sheer joy. The pace is quick from start to finish so there`s no time to get bored and while predictable to a point, it`s still enjoyable to just sit back and let the story take its course. James Cagney as the aggressive Coca-Cola man MacNamara is great to watch; he`s not afraid to speak German and the script makes a fair amount of tongue in cheek reference to the Third Reich. Whilst Cagney is the driving force, the rest of the cast perform well too and deliver their lines with such fervour and timing that you wonder how many takes it took to get right. The characters and cast are solid throughout.

Good video and sound delivering a punchy script makes this film a film worth seeing. If you`re a Billy Wilder fan then see it if you haven`t already. Anyone else who likes Wilder comedies such as Some Like It Hot, Irma La Douce or The Apartment is sure to like this too.