It Should Happen to You

This is probably both Judy Holliday's and Jack Lemmon's happiest film, or at least one of them. It was Jack Lemmon's first, and George Cukor's problem with him was that he was a little too good and always overdid it, but as such he was ideal for Judy Holliday who was the opposite - always getting in on understatements. Her sense of humour is something unique in American film, always funny especially when she is dead serious, and in all her films you always suspect there is something dark and tragic under all that brilliant sunshine of sparkling wit and good humour, and she did die far too early at only 43. The comedy is one of the best and sunniest ever produced in Hollywood, and the main credit goes to Garson Kanin, who wrote the script. It is actually a satire on the career and advertising business, and the urge to make a name for oneself and be a success by some glorious career is exploited for fun but never in a negative sense. It reminds very much of Carole Lombard's best comedies in the 30s, like the Ben Hecht hilarious satire "Nothing Sacred" - it's the same kind of reckless making fun of how the vanity of society works. George Cukor himself must have thoroughly enjoyed making it, especially as he also could enjoy how well Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon went together.

Holliday is radiant in this excellent comedy about a nobody who wants to be a somebody. It's the story of an average woman who devises a plan to plant her name on a billboard. She immediately hits it big, doing commercials and public appearances and the only one who sees the danger in it is her boyfriend, played by Lemmon, in his scene stealing film debut.

Holliday, a master of play on words is hilarious in this well made romance-comedy, perfectly paced and directed by George Cukor.

This movie was made at a time when Reality TV wasn't in the vocabulary, yet it foretold the future, in this tale of a young woman (Judy Holliday) who longs for fame and hates being unknown, prompting her to rent billboard space, so everyone in New York City will know the name Gladys Glover! She gets her wish and discovers it's not all she thought it would be.

Jack Lemon was on the road to fame with his portrayal of Pete Sheppard, the young man Gladys meets in Central Park, who's soon a tenant in her west side apartment building, then her boyfriend, then the guy she loses and must win back (in a reversal of the usual boy-meets-girl routine).

Peter Lawford plays the other man in the picture, wealthy Evan Adams, whose family company wanted the billboard space Gladys rented and made a deal with her, launching her "reality" career, and sparking Evan's interest in the new "star", though his intentions are not exactly honorable!

There are some great location shots, a chance to see some scenes of New York City in the 1950's. This is a fun and entertaining movie.

The Garson Kanin screenplay isn't out of his top drawer, but it has a cute idea at the heart of it, one that has become more timely with the passing years: Celebrity can be bought. Judy Holliday plays a nobody who wants to be a somebody, and with the help of a cynical agent and a clever marketing ploy, she becomes one. Indeed, with the media machine grown so disproportionately huge since, this movie cries out for a remake. But who could ever match Holliday's musical, clinically precise line readings, or her wide-eyed facial expressions? There really is only one of her.

Jack Lemmon, in his movie debut, is likeable and accomplished, and some amusing faces turn up in supporting and cameo roles -- Constance Bennett, Ilka Chase, Peter Lawford. There's some gritty New York location filming, approximately where Lincoln Center is now (and where "West Side Story" was shot years later), adding to the verite motif in the subplot (Lemmon plays a documentary filmmaker).

With Cukor's sure direction, everybody seems to be having a wonderful time. So will you.

A cute story about a woman who gets it in her head to make herself a celebrity just by putting her name all over town, AND it works, but at what cost?? The great Judy Holiday plays Gladys Glover. She buys time on a few billboards around town to show off her name. Next thing she knows Peter Lawford is after her for one of those billboards for his drug store chain. In return he offers her several other billboards and to model for his ads. He wines and dines our dear Gladys to get what he wants. Throw in Jack Lemmon(in a early performance) who just wants Gladys to stay the little sweet unknown girl that he fell in love with, and you get this funny little comic gem. Here's hoping it comes out soon in DVD.....