It Should Happen to You

Judy Holliday is an ordinary New Yorker, recently come to the city, who passes an empty billboard on Columbus Circle. "This sign for rent." She visits the agency and discovers the location is available for some two-hundred and fifty dollars. She's managed to save up that much and rents the sign for a month or two. What's going to be ON the sign? She thinks it over and decides it will just be her name in letters the size of "second coming" font -- GLADYS GLOVER. That's all. However, the agency has made an error. The sign at Columbus Circle has traditionally been rented to some sort of business run by Peter Lawford and his huge staff. Lawford is furious. He calls in Holliday and offers to buy it back. No, it wouldn't be right. Her mind is made up. Well, then, how about if we put your name up on signs in six other places and you yield Columbus Circle. Nope. Soon enough, people begin noticing her name and wondering about who she is. She's taken under the wing of show-biz pimp Michael O'Shea who gets her spots on television shows and puts her in commercials. At her walk-up apartment, Holliday has a next-door neighbor who is a sort of suitor and conscience, Jack Lemon. The idea of Holliday's sign disgusts him as a fornicating vulgarity. But, meanwhile, she is pursued by the slick, uber-rich Peter Lawford, who has that sign on his mind, though he wouldn't mind a bit of nookie on the side. He takes her to fancy night clubs in his Jag. She spots (gasp!) Walter Winchell! Holliday's mind, on the other hand, is in a whirl. She exalts in the presence of her name in big letters, but Lemon is telling her one thing and Lawford another. The end is predictable. She discovers that a famous name means nothing unless it stands for something. I swear I'm not making that up. Judy Holliday brings to the part a little of her dumb blond from "Born Yesterday" but in this case the trait is meant to be charming and, underneath that fustian search for fame, is a fundamentally intelligent and morally upright young lady. Lemon and Lawford are good in their roles. They seem almost meant for them. I don't know if the writers intended it but the movie is an interesting comment on being well known for being well known. The category covers a lot of untalented people whose names are universal. Who -- really -- is Lady GaGa? Where is Charisma Carpenter these days and what is she up to? The supermarket tabloids tell us things like "Brad and Shannon -- A Split?" I'm not even going to get INTO politics! Well -- I'll dip a toe in. "Joe the Plumber" rings a tinny little bell. The comedy is never hilarious, but sometimes smile inducing. No masterpiece but a low-key and light-hearted study of character and ethics.

I only caught the last 15 or so minutes of this movie on TCM today and was astonished at how much Judy (an actress I was until now unaware of) reminded me so much of another actress but I couldn't figure it out! Then it hit me... Jami Gerts resembles Judy in an AMAZING way, from their eyes, jaw, lips, and facial expressions. I tried to look up if they're related and all I discovered was that they're both Jewish. I don't think Judy had kids but I seriously wonder if Jami is a niece of hers. Anyone know???? I also didn't know that Shephard was Jack Lemmon until I looked up the movie here on IMDb! (I guess that shows how young I am!) I plan to search for more of Judy's movies soon now that I've read such wonderful reviews on her craft.

While the performances in this film certainly had their good moments, none of the characters were particularly likable. Jack Lemmon's Pete is manipulative and casually sexist, trying to bring Judy Holliday's character Gladys down to earth, basically dangling that holy grail of marriage just past her fingers, but saying that he would not offer it, or take her seriously, until she behaved herself like a good girl. She says to him, "don't be the one to burst my bubble", but he takes no notice and is petulant and possessive. Then again though, those dreams Gladys has- just to be known, not for anything at all, just KNOWN. They aren't very noble dreams. It's good that she wants her autonomy, but she plays the dumb blonde shtick and comes across as irritating, vacuous and greedy, and is soon exploited by unscrupulous, slimy businessmen. I think there's an intended message here that women couldn't hope to win in the 1950s and they were silly to even try. But it was Peter Lawford's character that was the worst. As the rich owner of a soap manufacturing company, he's practically psychopathic. I don't know how anyone could have interpreted his advances towards Gladys as romantic or warm. He's a man who won't take no for an answer. The scene where he follows Gladys into her home despite her saying goodbye numerous times made me very uncomfortable- many women will recognise that situation, where you don't want to be rude and so the man takes advantage of your politeness and pushes his luck despite understanding full well that he's not welcome. The scene in his apartment where she expects a business meeting and he expects her to prostitute herself makes me even more uncomfortable. You can see the fear on Gladys' face as she cringes away from his kisses (a good performance there from Holliday) and there are definite undertones of rape. It made me feel sick. Without the Hays Code restricting what could be shown and said, imagine that scene played more explicitly today- you would not be able to consider the film a comedy. The ending of the film is supposed to be happy but I think it's rather a tragedy. Gladys and Pete, newly married, are in his car. Even from the brief scene it is made clear that she's been broken into submission. He makes all the decisions- we'll find a motel and go straight to bed, and then get back on the road early- and with a faint voice she asks if they couldn't possibly have breakfast before they leave. Yes, she's a good girl now.

OK, this was well performed but it suffers from the kind of moral corruption that seems to be fundamental to romantic comedy: Jack Lemmon's character is, for his time on the screen, jerk. A simpering, cynical jerk. The charm typical of his early performances and overall acting ability shines through, but his character, as written is not especially likable (romantic comedies would have you believe otherwise). But as this is a romantic comedy, the jerk gets the girl. Also, as in most romantic comedies he exhibits stalker behavior (conveniently moving into the same building, spying) and the closer he gets to Gladys, the more he tries to shoot down what is really a pretty neat ruse (I wish I'd thought of the billboard thing!). By contrast, Peter Lawford's character is probably supposed to be less likable, but once his interests changed from business to romance, his character seemed to capable of more obvious warmth than Lemmon's despite the "come on" scene in Lawford's apartment. The twisted thing about romantic comedies is that one party is always unlikable and the likable one (in this case Judy Holliday as Gladys--very likable) will always choose the unlikable one. Perhaps, the real reason that people try to rise above the crowd is that the crowd sucks. Movies, however, can never say that, so once again we have a character who could have 'had it all', in a sense, opt for lowered expectations simply to fulfill a formula.

What can I say about It Should Happen To You? It has the perfect cast--Peter Lawford, the always-wonderful Judy Holliday, and Jack Lemmon in his first starring role. It has a great plot--a woman (Holliday) who wants to make a name for herself, who wants to be famous, more than anything else, and who goes about it by putting her name on a billboard in New York City. From there it escalates to several billboards, then a national soap campaign sponsored by Lawford's soap company. Lemmon, who's in love with her, thinks she's crazy and obsessed. All in all, a classic movie, with dozens of great scenes, particularly the one with Holliday in Lawford's apartment. The chemistry between the stars is perfect. I highly recommend it.

Judy Holliday does a fine performance as a would be actress who puts her name on a New York billboard and becomes an media celebrity. Jack Lemmon and Peter Lawford do fine performances too in the film. The movie is dated at the time it was made. If they remake this movie today, the lead woman character would buy advertisement space on the internet instant of a billboard to update the movie's story. The plot would evolve around the electronic media used today not the printed media used in the 1950's.

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.....

Judy Holliday struck gold in 1950 withe George Cukor's film version of "Born Yesterday," and from that point forward, her career consisted of trying to find material good enough to allow her to strike gold again. It never happened. In "It Should Happen to You" (I can't think of a blander title, by the way), Holliday does yet one more variation on the dumb blonde who's maybe not so dumb after all, but everything about this movie feels warmed over and half hearted. Even Jack Lemmon, in what I believe was his first film role, can't muster up enough energy to enliven this recycled comedy. The audience knows how the movie will end virtually from the beginning, so mostly it just sits around waiting for the film to catch up. Maybe if you're enamored of Holliday you'll enjoy this; otherwise I wouldn't bother. Grade: C

There's just something about a ditzy woman miraculously making herself a name that always seems to be a winner. I loved the way Gladys and Pete interacted throughout the entire story, through friendship, frustrations, unreturned feelings, and finally contented love. It is certainly a feel-good movie, and accomplishes this task rather well. Recommended for all you touchy-feelies out there.

It's sad that Judy Holliday made so few movies before dying very prematurely in 1965. She had a marvelous screen presence--earthy but extremely likable. Here, as usual, she is in top form as the sweet but ditsy Gladys Glover. However, unlike several of her other films, this one featured a supporting performance that was so well done that for once, my attention was not just on Holliday. Jack Lemmon is here in his first film and he is marvelous as well. This is NOT in the same way as Holliday, but as a sweet everyman sort of character--one that actually improved the film tremendously. Together, they were better than any of Holliday's other films. Teaming her with talented actors such as William Holden ("Born Yesterday"), Dean Martin ("The Bells Are Ringing") and Aldo Ray ("The Marrying Kind") worked fine--but the Lemmon-Holliday teaming was perfect. The film begins with Holliday and Lemmon meeting in Central Park. She has just lost her job and he is a struggling documentary film maker getting shots for his next film. They begin to talk and it's obvious that there is some lovely chemistry between the characters. You really, really like the two and want to see them fall in love. And, so it would appear until something weird happened. On a lark, Holliday buys billboard space on which she simply has her name written. At first, nothing comes of it, but soon a lot of unexpected publicity results and Holliday becomes an instant star. While this would seem great, it drives a wedge between her and Lemmon. I liked this, as in some other romantic comedies, the guy is a jerk who just doesn't understand. In this case, your heart breaks for Lemmon, as he is wronged repeatedly as Holliday's attention is taken away from this sweet guy. For example, you can't help but feel for the shmoe when she blows off their date--their date to meet his parents! Can Judy get her head on straight and realize that there is more to life than publicity and notoriety? Or, will she lose the man in her life who is worth having? See this film and find out for yourself. There is a lot to love about about the film. The acting is first-rate, the writing is perhaps even better (if it's possible) and this little film packs an amazing punch. Sweet, memorable and perhaps Holliday's best--this is a great example of simple and highly effective film making. Not to be missed!