It Should Happen to You

It Should Happen to You
DVD Cover
Directed byGeorge Cukor
Written byGarson Kanin
Produced byFred Kohlmar
StarringJudy Holliday
Peter Lawford
Jack Lemmon
Michael O'Shea
CinematographyCharles Lang
Edited byCharles Nelson
Music byFrederick Hollander
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 15, 1954 (1954-01-15) (New York City)
  • March 1954 (1954-03) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.4 million[1]

It Should Happen to You is a 1954 American romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford and Jack Lemmon; it was Lemmon's first major film appearance. The film was directed by George Cukor, and partly filmed on location in New York City. Screenwriter Garson Kanin originally intended the script as a vehicle for Danny Kaye, but Kanin's wife, Ruth Gordon, suggested casting Judy Holliday instead. The title was initially A Name for Herself.[2]

Lemmon had a contentious meeting with studio boss Harry Cohn, who feared that critics might use jokes about the name "Lemmon" in headlines panning the film. He wanted Lemmon to change his name to "Lennon". Lemmon countered that if he did that, people might confuse his name with "Lenin" and associate his name with communism— a legitimate concern in the 1950s.[3]

  1. ^ "1954 Box Office Champs". Variety Weekly. January 5, 1955. p. 59. - figures are rentals in the US and Canada
  2. ^ It Should Happen to You at IMDb
  3. ^ "Jack Lemmon, Academy Award Winning Actor, Dies at 76". -The New York Times. Associated Press. June 28, 2001. Retrieved April 2, 2019.