It Should Happen to 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.....

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.

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.

A 1954 comedy starring Judy Holliday & Jack Lemmon (in his film debut) directed by George Cukor (The Women/A Star is Born). A woman strolls along the park where she meets cute w/a documentarian who takes note of an argument she's having w/a fellow park denizen. Holliday is a recent transplant to New York where she feels moorless but when she sees a sizable blank building wall for rent (for ads & such), she strikes upon the idea to take over the space w/her name the sole occupant. At first the landlords want to buy back the space since they have a more lucrative offer (from future Rat Packer Peter Lawford) but a price is not agreed upon so the agency offers Holliday a trade for at least six other spaces throughout the city causing a stir amongst the inhabitants to find out who this person is. Now a celebrity model, she finds herself at odds w/the attention her scheme has gotten her which alienates Lemmon & forces them to define their relationship. Holliday, who I only know from Born Yesterday (which I still haven't seen), shines in the role w/her guileless street smarts complementing her winsome looks to perfection. Lemmon is more low key here than we'd come to find him in later years but makes enough of an impression to see the star he'd become.

A true comedienne is something of a rarity. Judy Holliday will always be remembered as one of the stage and screen's finest comediennes. The problem facing top comedians has always been finding the right material to suit their talents. More often than not they find themselves saddled with inferior material, (Bob Hope, Peter Sellers, Jerry Lewis….the list goes on).

In her brief screen career Judy Holliday was fortunate in having vehicles that managed to show off her talents. Yet there remains a nagging sense that even a movie as successful as "It Should Happen to You", does not quite do Holliday justice. It's pleasant and amusing viewing, but ultimately Holliday deserved more.

A young Jack Lemmon proves an almost perfect foil for Holliday. In his very first screen role he is a pleasure to watch. As the years passed Lemmon began to lean more and more on his famed idiosyncrasies.

The theme of "It Should Happen to You" is as relevant as ever in its dealing with the public's fascination with vacuous celebrity. Clearly not much has changed over the past fifty years.