Wandering despondently, Gladys's attention is caught by a large billboard overlooking Columbus Circle that is available for rent.

However, it turns out the Adams Soap company has traditionally booked the sign and is upset to learn that another client has obtained it.

She is called to a meeting where Evan Adams III attempts to induce her to give up the sign by offering her more money.

Gladys shops in Macy's department store, and when she gives her name, the word spreads quickly and dozens of people flock to get her autograph.

The situation reaches a crisis when Gladys breaks a date with Pete and his parents in order to attend what Adams says is a business conference to discuss a cross-country publicity tour.

She finally resolves to end her quest for fame, and arranges for a plane to skywrite a message to Pete, which he reads while filming a crowd sequence in the zoo.

[4] When the film appeared, Bosley Crowther, writing in The New York Times, called it "a neat piece of comic contrivance that will contribute to the joy of man" with "intelligence, compassion, and lots of gags."

Holliday is "brilliantly droll", and the script "a compound of clever situation and broad but authentic character, wrapped up in free splurged emotions and witty, idiomatic dialogue."

It is more of a character study, if that term can be applied to a Judy Holliday film, than a plot-sized picture....It's sophisticated and bright as it stands, but it could have been expanded into a more involved story without losing any of its comedy.

"[6] The Buffalo Evening News was enthusiastic without reservation: "It is difficult to communicate the charm of 'It Should Happen to You' with a simple account of the story....If you think this is too thin for the most delightful comedy since 'Born Yesterday,' you reckon without its Lafayette star, Judy Holliday; its screenwright, Garson Kanin; and the wittiest director surviving the late Lubitsch, George Cukor.