One, Two, Three
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Movie Reviews of One, Two, Three
Movie Review: Berlin Express
Summary: 5 Stars
One, Two, Three doesn't suffer from the overfamiliarity of th betterknown Wilder pictures like The Apartment, Some Like It Hit, Sunset Boulevard. In fact it plays as though it were made yesterday. One marvels at how fast the characters reel off realms of complicated dialogue: I got worried when Cagney has to bark out an endless list of multipart orders over the phone to a series of heelclicking Berlin underlings--worried for him, for it looked like he was going to have an heart attack. The energy's contagious, even when the political satire, like all satire, cuts the wrong way. There must be reams and reams of film criticism comparing this 1961 picture to Wilder's earlier A Foreign Affair, for both of them carry something of the cynical weariness, mixed with nervous triumph, that an exiled artist carries back when he or she returns to native climes.
In fact the sex roles are distributed fairly evenly as they were in A Foreign Affair. Here, Arlene Francis tweaks the Jean Arthur role of the chilly, sexless, officious and yet witty American woman overseas and longing to return to the place she knows best, while Lilo Pulver plays the Marlene Dietrich part--really better than Dietrich, if that isn't heretical, the sexy, amiable, out for herself German party girl. One, Two, Three adds another female role to the mix--maybe that's where the title comes from! And she's Pamela Tiffin, in one of her oddest parts ever, a teenage Scarlett O'Hara--her name is even Scarlett--who falls in love with an East German socialist played by Horst Buchholz. I'm Tiffin's biggest fan and even I would have to say she's testing my devotion here with her breathless oohs and aahs and her flaunting or US privilege. But I'll watch it ten more times, and my opinion with change I'm sure.
As for Horst Buchholz, I'm glad Cagney didn't get him fired. The movie would be nothing without him at the center. My goodness, is he ever luscious in his proletariat costume, barely distinguishable from the Beat look, his sandals, bare feet, sweatshirt, hoodie, and that long hair like a double handful of wet crow's feathers nearly covering his soulful James Dean eyes. They called him the German James Dean, but prolonged exposure to his sulky stare here will have you thinking of James Dean as the "Ämerican Horst Buchholz." Cagney's apoplectic that Otto wears no socks, and Pamela Tiffin's all lasciviously pointing out that he wears no underwear either. Then in a patented turnaround he is forced to spend most of the film's second half sauntering around in a pair of white silk boxers that fit him like the skin of a balloon. Ow, that hurts! He vows that he will never be a capitalist, "and sit on my assets clipping coupons." I wonder if experienced film buffs can tell me whether or not this is the first use of the "sit on my assets" joke in American cinema? It would have to be Wilder, wouldn't it, who else would be brash enough and crude enough and attuned enough to the intricacies of the American language?
Movie Review: 2nd Funniest Movie by the Great Billy...
Summary: 5 Stars
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.Movie Review: Unknown (at least to me) Gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
Where has this gem been all my life? I just caught this recently, and was mightily impressed! James Cagney's penultimate film shows him at his dazzling best. Also starring a superb Anne Francis, Red Buttons and directed by the incomparable Billy Wilder, One, Two, Three is a mad-cap dash in and around West Berlin (just before the Wall went up). Leonard Maltin calls Cagney's delivery like a machine gun, and it is that. You wonder if Cagney retired for 30 years just to recover from delivering all of those lines. How could he keep them all straight?
Cagney plays C.R. MacNamara, a Coca-Cola executive in post World War II West Berlin. He's been exiled first to South America and now to Europe, and he's trying to claw his way back up the ladder. His wife Phyllis (Francis) is tired of all the travel, and is agitating for a state-side post. 'Mac' sees an opportunity to scamper up over rivals when he learns that the daughter of a top executive is coming to Berlin, and he 'gets' the chance to babysit her, and keep her out of trouble. That plan backfires as Scarlett is soon traveling around the city on her own, after the MacNamaras think she's asleep in her room.
What a gem! I don't know why I've never heard of it. I've seen most of Wilder's other films, and this film ranks up near the top. It's that good.
Very, very highly recommended! I'd watch it over and over again. It's is so darn funny, fast-paced, and just plain fantastic. A winner! They don't get much better than this. And unlike some film 50 years old, this is extremely enjoyable to spend an hour and fifty-five minutes. Wunderbar!
Movie Review: "Bury us, but don't MARRY us!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Set your time machine for 1961 and go back to the days of Khrushchev, Huntley-Brinkley, and the height of the Cold War. Billy Wilder's screwball farce is set in West Berlin, where Macnamara (James Cagney), the head of the local Coca Cola office, wants " the pause that refreshes" to be the first American product sold behind the Iron Curtain. He also has to baby-sit his boss's wild teenage daughter (played by Pamela Tiffin), who quickly marries a raging communist from East Berlin and finds herself in the family way. And now her father is coming over to see how well Macnamara is taking care of his little girl.
This frenetic comedy is not for everyone, but if you can remember pill box hats and Berlin before the Wall, you will probably love it. The one-liners come fast and furious as all the actors shout their lines, and the "Sabre Dance" is the background music for the non-stop physical humor. Cagney hams it up as the harried Coca Cola boss who barks orders to his ex-nazi assistant and keeps wife Arlene Francis from leaving him. Tiffin, a teen icon at the time, floats through the movie in a Southern-belle haze, mostly ogling handsome Horst Buchholz, who plays her commie beatnik husband, Otto ("He doesn't even wear socks!"). The supporting cast is full of German and Russian stereotypes of the period who race around at breakneck speed trying to make Otto into a respectable husband.
If you liked the wacky political humor that was popular at the time, you'll enjoy this very funny comedy, filmed in glorious black and white.
Kona
Movie Review: We trade you caviar for blond secretary
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie will not appeal to anyone that is a devout believer in political correctness. Having grown up in a time when there was rarely anyone politically correct, in office or not, I find it refreshingly funny. Although children today may not get all the politcal satire of the Cold War they certainly can see enough site gags and innuendo to warrant a few chuckles. Most teenagers and adults know enough about political satire to appreciate the humor. Anyone that knows the situation between the USA and USSR in the 60s will definitely get a kick out of the movie. Fans of Billy Wilder and James Cagney will no doubt love this little madcap comedy. Several lines and site gags reference other Cagney movies, see if you can catch them.
I can't say if this movie has aged well or not since I have aged with it. I grew up in the 1960s and I thought it was funny when I first saw it long after it was released and it still makes me laugh out loud today. I can say if you like fast paced classic comedies like "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "The Man in the White Suit", "The Mouse that Roared", "Some Like It Hot", or "Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", you will probably get a kick out of this zinger. The DVD quality is sharp. To get an idea of how good a job they did cleaning up the movie, take a look at the original trailer that has not been cleaned up. There are no other extras. A must have for James Cagney fans since he stopped making movies for twenty years after this one. After that he only made "Ragtime".