1961: One, Two, Three

One, Two, Three (Wilder, 1961) 8/10

Coca-Cola is arguably the most recognized and culturally divisive American brand in the world. Originating in late 19th century Atlanta as a pseudo-medicinal beverage, Coca-Cola rapidly transformed itself into one of the world's most recognizable companies.

Over the past sixty years, Coca-Cola has become a political and cultural embodiment of Americana. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the company’s emphasis on mass advertising, pervasive consumption and global marketing acquired Coca-Cola the ire of post-World War II Europeans on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

As addressed in Richard F. Kuisel’s article “Coca-Cola and the Cold War: The French Face Americanization, 1948-1953,” Coca-Cola’s systemic growth in post-war Europe alarmed both communist and anti-communist forces. Coca-Cola became stylized in anti-American propaganda as a demagogue threatening the health of children and the economic survival of regional beverages. Lawsuits and legal discussions in Denmark, Switzerland and France attempted to stop the sale of the drink.

In Communist circles, the sweet-tasting drink soured the tastes of officials and intellectuals who viewed Coca-Cola as a capitalist elixir designed to turn Europe into a series of coca-coloniés. The term "Coca-Colonization" gained prominence amongst intellectual scholars in the Cold War to identify the spread of American cultural and economic practices abroad; attitudes held and expounded upon by Cold War era Coca-Cola executives.

Positioned during the Cold War as the ultimate commercial signifier of American culture and capitalism, Coca-Cola was subsequently the perfect economic institution to be employed by the legendary Billy Wilder in his superb 1961 Cold War farce One, Two, Three. Filmed in Berlin and Munich during the construction of The Berlin Wall, One, Two, Three is a rapid fire comedy eagerly praising and ridiculing America's cultural and economic expansion into Europe. The film stars James Cagney in his purported final role (he came out of retirement for 1981's Ragtime) as C.R MacNamara, a lifelong Coca-Cola executive, who has traversed the globe for the company: tapping uncharted markets and expanding the brand from the Andes to the Alps.

Stuck in Berlin, MacNamara sees an audacious opportunity to sell Coca-Cola in the Eastern Bloc nixed by his patriotic boss in Atlanta. Desperate to garner greater influence in the company, MacNamara reluctantly accepts Hazeltine's (Howard St. John) request for MacNamara to look after his teenage daughter Scarlett (Pamela Tiffin) when her whirlwind tour of Europe hits Berlin. Scarlett's arrival exacerbates the fractures in MacNamara's marriage to his undersexed loyal wife (Arlene Francis) and his affair with his lurid German secretary Ingeborg (Lilo Pulver). Furthermore, MacNamara's plans for his long-awaited promotion are put on hiatus, as Hazeltine's southern daughter reveals herself to be a sexually promiscuous, intellectual simpleton, who secretly elopes with an ideologically wooden East German Communist youth.

Released after the successes of Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, One, Two, Three was a brief return to the more caustic channels Wilder had previously explored in dramatic masterpieces such as Ace in the Hole and Sunset Boulevard. One, Two, Three operates a hyperactive comedic critique of both capitalist and communist cultures with plenty of Wilder's trademark snarl, but without the acidic bite. Sadly, the film was not a great box-office success.

Contrary to recent critical studies of One, Two, Three that have argued the film was a critical disaster, it should noted that upon the film's release Wilder received mostly positive reviews from major publications such as Time, The New Yorker and the New York Times. Most of the negative feedback customarily associated with One, Two, Three primarily came from later sources such as Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael and the staff at Cahiers du Cinema

Their critiques have mostly focused on the perceived "vulgarity" and tastelessness of Wilder's humour. According to Wilder biographer Maurice Zolotow much of Kael's criticisms stemmed from Wilder's exploitation of unsavory characters and situations for comedic purposes. Yet, it is through his boundary pushing witticisms that Wilder demonstrated humanity's self-serving attitudes and practices. Like Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove three years later, Wilder's film attempts to show the absurdity of Cold War politics, yet in Wilder's case it is through quotidian individuals. In One, Two, Threeboth systems, regardless of their ideological leanings,feature arrogant figures desperate to advance through their respective system through bullying, conniving and favours.

The character of MacNamara is a playful interpretation of the "Ugly American." MacNamara's main desire is to increase company profits and sales, which in turn will increase his own greed and opulence. His tactics are aggressive and disregard the sanctity of foreign cultures. MacNamara even goes so far to proclaim he wishes to ensure each German has a Coke to drown down his Knackwurst. MacNamara's cultural insensitivity is only rivaled by the ignorant buffoonary of Soviet officials, who share MacNamara's fondness for sex, materialism and personal gain.

The casting of Cagney in particular is extremely interesting. Cagney's character is certainly a self-reflexive tribute to his image and iconography in the gangster genre. Noted for his career-shaping roles playing a gangster and a hoodlum, Cagney's portrayal of MacNamara is an extension of his earlier gangster entrepeneurs, who try to expand their market and protect their interests via whatever means necessary. One, Two, Three even features visual references to such gangster classics as The Public Enemy and Little Caesar. Naturally, unlike The Public Enemy's Tom Powers or White Heat's Cody Jarrett, violence is not a viable option. Instead MacNamara uses his cunning sensibilities to place Scarlett's lover Otto into the hands of the East German Secret Police, the Stasi. Violence is not a sensible business tactic, but as MacNamara continually notes neither is displeasing your employer.

In One, Two, Three, Wilder also investigates the labyrinthine and inefficient layers of Communist bureaucracy. He takes swipes at East Germany's informant culture and the lack of freedoms in the Eastern Bloc highlighted by MacNamara's commentary about East Germany's collection of unreturned Coca-Cola bottles in relation to the masses defecting to the West: black market Americana is in, whilst personal freedom is out along the nefarious Iron Curtain.

The director's sublime capabilities even allow a torture sequence involving repeated listening sessions of garish American pop music to retain a comedic touch. The wealth of cultural misunderstandings solidify the bursting humour of One, Two, Three. Even West Germans are not spared, as Wilder and co-writer I.A.L Diamond offer comedic jabs at the failures of social denazification and the rise of West German material culture. Ironically, the film gained a cult following in West Germany following its belated release in the 1980's.

Working within a brilliant, punch-line intensive script, One, Two, Three becomes more than a series of visual jokes and puns about cuckoo clocks, sex-starved wives and lingering Nazi habits through Wilder's manic direction. Even as One, Two, Three seemingly stalls in its final third, the film is further held together by Cagney's illuminating skills and his fervent energy; as MacNamara becomes a Henry Higgins to Otto Piffl's Eliza Doolittle: shaping Scarlett's lover from a stubborn communist into a stubborn capitalist through flashy clothes.

Yet in his denouement, Wilder skillfully denotes that material trivialities do not define one's character or content. One can simply not switch allegiances through consumerism. Rather, it is the spiritual and moral essence of individuals that determines and shapes their practices and perspectives. Only through an understanding of these terms, do characters such as Piffl and MacNamara realize the true Cold War is not between their souls, but within their own frosty hearts.

An underrated farcical gem.

* One, Two, Three is released through MGM Home Video and is available in their Billy Wilder Collection box set

Copyright 2008 8½ Cinematheque