One day while on the set of Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three James Cagney decided to retire. This would be his last movie until Milos Foreman's Ragtime twenty years later. Set in West Berlin in the months before the wall was erected by the communists to seal off East Berlin, this black & white movie is a fast-paced comedy about a Coca Cola executive who must keep his conservative boss's daughter from marrying a radical communist in order to save his job.

Billy Wilder was fresh off the success of two of his greatest movies, 1959's Some Like it Hot and 1960's The Apartment. It was probably inevitable that One, Two, Three would be unable to live up to those masterpieces. In particular it seems to be trying to duplicate the feel of Some Like it Hot. It features similar jazzy music to underscore many scenes and plows along at the same frantic pace for example.

James Cagney (as was often the case in his long career) is the main reason for watching this somewhat dated comedy (a few too many nazi jokes). At 62 he could still bark out complicated lines with his trademark rapid-fire staccato speaking voice. As C.R. MacNamara he gets to deliver a few witty one-liners like, 'Some of the East German police were rude and suspicious. Others were suspicious and rude.' or 'Any world that can produce the Taj Mahal, William Shakespeare, and striped toothpaste can't be all bad.' Not all of the funny lines are given to him though. The boss's bubble-headed southern belle daughter Scarlet gets a few. When MacNamara hatches a scheme to convince her parents that Scarlet's communist husband is really a distinguished count, she excitedly exclaims, 'Countess? That means everybody has to curtsy to me, except maybe Grace Kelly.'

One thing this movie is not is subtle. It is filled with familar 'types'. Yes, the southern belle is really named Scarlet. The buxom blonde German secretary, the Russian businessmen, the young communist and MacNamara's ex-nazi assistant are all broadly painted caricatures. But Billy Wilder had something as both a writer and a director that many of today's film-makers lack, and that's great timing. So while One, Two, Three does not rank among his greatest movies it is nonetheless entertaining and original. And Cagney's over-the-top performance in his last starring role makes this movie a must-see for all serious movie buffs.

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One, Two, Three is a very fast paced film, with more dialogue thrown around than baseballs at a little league game. Cagney was heading for retirement, but he still had his trade mark energy. He barks out commands and schemes at a break neck speed.

The movie is very interesting politically. It slams socialism at every turn. Otto is a dedicated communist party member but every time he opens his mouth he inadvertently makes fun of it. When talking to his new wife, he says that, "They (the communist government) have assigned us a magnificent apartment. Just a short walk from the bathroom." The movie likewise takes some pokes at capitalism. MacNamara has to royally kiss ass to get ahead. My favorite line in the entire movie sums up politics better than anything I have ever heard. Otto yells, "I will not have my son grow up to be a capitalist." and Scarlett explains, "When he's 18 he can make his mind up whether he wants to be a capitalist or a rich communist." Politics and political affiliation can mean nothing if your rich

Where the movie goes wrong is in the character of MacNamara. He is the center of everything, yet he is not very likable. He's greedy, selfish, uncaring and has affairs on his wife. The point of the movie is for him to pull off a huge scheme so he can succeed. Since he is not a very likable character, I never really cared if it succeeded or not, but it was fun to watch how it unfolded.

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