One, Two, Three

30s screwball comedy with a 60s sensibility. It doesn't always hit but it keeps on chugging along with a manic energy that breaks you down. Full of little references and wordplay it's pretty fun though a little tiring.

It's an okay movie, but not up to Wilder's best. The jokes seem like they OUGHT to be funny. They're probably funnier on paper. But something just doesn't gel here: perhaps the timing is off, or the atmosphere is too zany (or even not zany enough). Maybe the characterization was too broad, or the gags are too clichéd. Whatever it was, it didn't work for me, except an occasional laugh. I didn't hate watching it, but I kept hoping it would somehow get taken to another level.

Laugh out loud hilarious. Cagney in a non-gangster role keeps up a frantic pace but can also take time to gloat. The action is nonstop and they even manage to squeeze in a trip to East Berlin. This film is what was missing for me in Mel Brooks' films of gags after gags. Every time the Sabre Dance came on I wasn't disappointed. Buchholz starts to lose his accent partway through but he's so impassionate about the Cause. Fav scene: Cagney barking orders for clothing, etc. and then taking charge.

It's scattergun satire, where everyone gets their share, equals that of Dr. Strangelove, with Cagney, Buchholz and the adorably dins Pamela Tiffin nailing the breakneck pace. And it's just really really funny.

Wilder aimed to 'one up' the frenetic pace of the classic screwball comedies with O.T.T and he largely succeeded, even if it doesn't reach the same uproarious heights. Cagney delivers a truly breathless performance as a company man entrusted with protecting his boss' daughter who gets romantically involved with a communist. The film skewers communism and capitalism quite equally, and while some of the jokes are obviously dated, it's a furiously energetic romp that is extremely entertaining.

The setup is contrived, stilted, and obnoxious. Cagney's talents are completely and utterly wasted here. And the jingoism is like fingernails on a chalkboard. This is so badly dated it's like watching a "duck and cover" film.

This movie has a rapid fire script that misses sometimes The actor that holds the film together is James Cagney. Cagney's performance makes the movie interesting. Overall I would recommend this film..

Billy Wilder directs a Coca-Cola commercial and it ends up being 2 hours long. Not as consistently funny as I remember it being, but still a fun ride. Billy's possibly at peak screwball here and he's the only one who ever made that genre work for me.

Wilder wanted to make the fastest comedy in history, and he made it. The pace was just too much to hold it together. Cagney was essential for this film - he might have saved it.

Hilarious many times. I love this movie.

Viewed December 9, 2020.

# 987

Cagney's incredible in this!

It's not without its flaws (in particular a lot of the plot developments feel very contrived relying a lot on happenstance), but it's also very amusing and James Cagney is more or less on fire in the final act.

A failure in comedy and Cagney pulls of one of the most annoying characters I've ever seen. perhaps it would have been funny, if The Cold War were still on, but I doubt it.

Very funny, frenetic performance from Cagney. Excellent screenplay and direction.

It was quite enjoyable and it is a decent film, but it's not outstanding in any way and overall it's plain medicore. There were a few funny parts i guess, I just totally forgot them.

971

The Coca-Cola Kid never got as much ass as the Coca-Cola Cagney!

Even at this late date, Billy Wilder still had it. So did James Cagney. Fast-paced, very funny comedy with lots of good jabs at communism and a "love interest" who's more of a... well, just see the darned thing :-)

I pretty much love James Cagney in anything.

James Cagney retired from movies after this (only to make a little appearance 20 years later in Ragtime). It's understandable, cause everyone would need a long break after having to deliver so many lines so fast as Cagney does in this extremely fast paced satire on both (Coca-cola) capitalism and communism. While Cagney gives an outstanding performance, all the best lines go to Horst Buchholz as the young East-German communist revolutionary.

If you're looking for entertainment, look no further than this little gem. Cagney is able to carry most of the gags without effort and the script has rhythm, while the directing is on point and makes you actually care about what's going on the screen.

The one where Billy Wilder directs a masterpiece of subversive take down of both Communism and capitalism. The action is zany, the jokes zip out of gangster actor James Cagney's mouth like a round from one of his beloved tommy guns and it never lets up until the hilarious last joke. I can't believe I'm only one of two of my TCIs rating this a 100.

pretty clever but never quite breaches the limits of Cold War propaganda. all characters are ridiculous, but the punchlines always fall on the commies (and ex-nazis). the latter half is relentless, featuring some super fun East Berlin scenes

86.50

89.000

Isn't 1961 a bit too late to be making a slapstick comedy with a mostly unfunny James Cagney? I always preferred Pepsi anyways.

Could have done without the red scare stuff

Jimmy Cagney is a kick in this movie, which treads the line of pretending to make fun of Communists but actually making fun of people who are afraid of them

As a communist I found this funny & enjoyable.

My feelings are mixed. It's a ballsy Cold War farce, possibly a good topical companion piece to Dr. Strangelove. Wilder takes aim at everyone, whether poking fun at inferior Soviet industry or painting the Americans as boorish colonialists. The screwball comedy that worked so well in Some Like it Hot is pushed into overdrive here, and the film is just obnoxious. The wordplay is as clever as you'd expect from Wilder and Diamond, but many of the punchlines, verbal and physical, are predictable.

Nein, not funny

Cupido Não Tem Bandeira estreava há 60 anos nos EUA. Lembrava bem pouco desse filme, apenas que era uma sátira finíssima, dito e feito é mesmo, não tem nada nem ninguém que não seja satirizado de ambos os lados do muro. BlurayRip R.A.R.B.G.

Not great. Commies are funny.

Good humor, decent story.

Irritatingly childish. The snappy and clever humour works to an extent.

Probably the best piece of product placement in a movie.

I didn't laugh once at this "comedy". The first 40 minutes were atrocious, and I fell asleep watching it. I came back to watch the rest a few days later, and it got a lot better, but the only thing saving this film from being a turkey was the zany "race against time" 3rd act. Features two of the most annoying females characters ever (the 17 year old and the wife) Every time they were on screen, I wanted to uppercut them into a bee hive.

991

Cagney's the only good thing about this.

A tiresome movie to sit through, given the breakneck pace of the movie and that all of the characters are awful. The final act is pretty amusing, but that means sitting through a bunch of Cold War stereotypes and dated humor.

For some reason this didn't work as well as it should have for me. I recall that Cagney was just a tad too energetic for me.