It Should Happen to You | | Cast : | Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon | | Director : | George Cukor | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 18, 1954 | | DVD Released Date : | January 13, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Japanese (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 23, 2005 | | Summary | Cukor and Holliday at their best | Content
 | George Cukor's breezy comedy IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU features the lovely Judy Holliday in one of her greatest roles, as well as Jack Lemmon in his movie debut.
The story concerns a young woman named Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday) whose compulsion for fame drives her to rent a billboard in Columbus Circle, on which her name is displayed for all to see. Pretty soon Gladys is known all over New York and she becomes an overnight celebrity. Gladys is also faced with a decision of the heart: a choice between her next-door-neighbour Pete Sheppard (Jack Lemmon) an amateur filmmaker who genuinely loves her; and suave businessman Evan Adams (Peter Lawford) who is only after her valuable billboard!
Fans of Judy Holliday won't be disappointed with this gem. The DVD presents the film in a sparkling anamorphic print, with the original trailer as the only extra. A talent taken from us too soon (just 10 years after this movie). Judy Holliday was definitely one-of-a-kind. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 14, 2005 | | Summary | wonderful classic Judy Holliday at her best! | Content
| I watched this as a double-header with another film by the great Judy Holliday, probably her most well-known performance in BORN YESTERDAY, for which she won a much-deserved Academy Award for Best Actress. IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU may not be as well-known, but it certainly should be. Judy's comedic genius as "the dumb blonde" is showcased here, brilliantly. She was definitely a comic GENIUS, and more people need to see this film to get a glimpse into the artistic talent of a woman who, perhaps, was the smartest "dumb blonde" in film history, who used her deceptive "dimwittedness" as a ruse to successfully turn things upside down.
Gladys Clover (Judy Holliday) is a young woman who wants nothing more but to be famous just for the sake of being famous. What is her masterplan to obtain it? Through commissioning a series of billboards with her name, to be displayed downtown for the world to see, of course! This unsual approach to gaining celebrity actually works, and leads to many opportunities in the limelight. What Gladys comes to learn, of course, is that all that glitters is not gold. Along the way, she encounters a young, intelligent would-be documentary filmmaker, Pete Sheppard (Jack Lemmon), who watches her rise to the top as a billboard superstar, and wonders how long she will manage to stay there. Gladys is also persued by a manipulative young tycoon, Evan Adams III (Peter Lawford), with less than wholesome intentions.
This movie has wonderful humor and a soulfulness quite absent from the movies of today. What you come to learn from watching this wonderful story is how irreplaceable the brilliant Judy Holliday is, and you will definitely enjoy watching her play off of the wonderful cast! This was Jack Lemmon's film debut, and you can tell from the minute he steps on screen that this man was going to go places as an actor. His presence is indeniable. Everyone needs to see this! |
| Rating | | | Date | March 20, 2005 | | Summary | Charming and entertaining | Content
| I recently saw the rebroadcast of an archival interview with George Cukor and he absolutely loved working with Judy Holliday. He valued her for her intelligence and he labeled her an intellectual. I know that an actor has to be sober to effectively portray a drunkard and so too, the highly intelligent Holliday effectively portrays a good natured but very ditzy character named Gladys Glover. If she wasn't so bright, she could not have effectively played such a ditzy character. Gladys wants to make a name for herself. She sees that there is prime billboard space available at Columus Circle in New York. That gives her an idea and you can guess what that idea is. Anyway, her name on one billboard gets parlayed into fame and there is a great satirical scene where people seek her autograph simply because her name is known.
Peter Lawford plays a potential love interest who is really interested in her for what she can mean to his corporation's bottom line. Her real love interest is Jack Lemon in his first role ever. In this early performance, we can see the seeds of the quirkiness that charcterized his movie career. This movie is delightful and I recommend it. Incidentally, there are great shots of Columbus Circle as it appeared in 1954. My!! How it has changed! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 01, 2004 | | Summary | Weak And Overrated | Content
| This movie is very stupid. It is made for somebody with the mentality of a bee. While other rewiewers rave about it, I myself think it is dumb and overrated. Judy Holliday is not the least bit funny, just annoying. So is Jack Lemon. It has a very weak storyline and very few funny parts. If you are looking for a dumb, weak movie, check this one out. If you are looking for something funny, get Jingle All The Way instead. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 15, 2004 | | Summary | IT SHOULD HAPPEN MORE OFTEN AT COLUMBIA STUDIOS! | Content
| "It Should Happen To You" is the delightful, bubble-headed comedy about Gladys Glover (Judy Holliday), who decides that all one really needs to be famous is a gigantic billboard advertising her name in New York. Well, the trick works and before long Gladys has to choose between the affections of a rich businessman (Peter Lawford), who's romance is predicated on getting Gladys to sell him her advertising space, or a genuine romance with her simple-life boyfriend (Jack Lemmon). As Gladys, Holliday is once again in rare form, delivering the kind of light-hearted, idiotic, yet tender comedic touch that easily made her the darling of such classics as "Born Yesterday" and "The Solid Gold Cadillac". The film is great fun and absorbingly original from start to finish!
TRANSFER: It should happen more often over at Columbia that they give DVD consumers such a nice looking print of their classic films. This film has a wonderfully smooth look to it, with deep blacks and a nicely balanced gray scale. The contrast levels seem to be subdued somewhat. There are rarely traces of film grain and NO digital artifacts or anomalies. The audio is mono but nicely done.
EXTRAS: Sorry - it's Columbia. You get a couple of trailers and that's all!
BOTTOM LINE: I don't know whether Columbia's finally realizing that DVD consumers want pristine versions of their classics on DVD, or if this film simply aged well in their studio vaults - either way, "It Should Happen To You" is a movie that should definitely find its way into your DVD library! |
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