It Could Happen to You! (1937) DVD-R

Starring Alan Baxter, Andrea Leeds, Owen Davis Jr., Astrid Allwyn, Walter Kingsford
Directed by Phil Rosen

Print: black/white
Runtime: 71 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

It Could Happen to You is one of those captivating "little" pictures whose reputation is built
up via word of mouth. Alan Baxter and Owen Davis Jr. star as Bob and Fred, the sons of
immigrant Pa Barrett (Al Shean). Fred is a dutiful offspring, but Bob, an adoptee, is a
no-good, stealing money from the old man to further his ambitions. When Pa Barrett
confronts Bob with this discovery, the young man accidentally kills his stepfather. As fate
would have it, Fred has become a lawyer, and it is he who takes on the job of defending Bob
in court. Fred wins an acquittal, but Bob learns to his chagrin that he will never be able to
escape the "judge and jury" of his own conscience. The script for It Could Happen to You
was co-written by Nathaniel West, later the author of the trenchant anti-Hollywood novel Day
of the Locust.