It Could Happen to You: A 1937 drama that hits harder than you'd expect

Is this worth your time?

If you like old-school studio dramas that don't overstay their welcome, sure. It’s a 1937 Republic feature, so it has that quick, punchy energy that everybody seems to have forgotten how to make today. If you're looking for deep, complex character studies that take three hours to breathe, you will probably hate this.

It’s the story of two brothers. One is the good kid, obviously. He goes into law. The other is, well, not so good. He picks up a gun and starts hanging around with the wrong crowd. It’s a bit on the nose, but it works.

The weird rhythm of old B-movies

There’s a specific kind of pacing in these mid-30s Republic films that I find oddly charming. They don't waste time with intros. You're just dropped into the mess immediately. One minute they're brothers sharing a room, and the next they're on opposite sides of a courtroom.

Watching Alan Baxter switch between playing the 'good' guy and the 'bad' guy is... let's just say he’s trying his hardest. Sometimes it feels like he’s in two different movies entirely. Maybe that's the point? It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in College Scandal, though with way fewer jokes and much more brooding.

The dialogue is snappy. It’s almost too snappy. Nobody actually talks like this in real life, but in 1937? It was the gold standard. There’s a scene near the middle where the brothers have an argument in a dimly lit hallway that goes on for maybe two minutes too long, and you can tell the camera operator was just waiting for the cue to wrap it up.

Odd observations

• The lighting in the crime scenes is surprisingly moody. It almost looks like a different movie than the courtroom stuff.
• I spotted Jack Carson in a bit part. He’s always a delight to see, even when he’s barely doing anything.
• The ending is… abrupt. It just stops. No long farewells. Just, okay, that’s it, roll the credits.

It feels like someone took the grit of Outlaws of the Range and tried to graft it onto a family drama. It’s not perfect. It’s not even trying to be high art. It’s just a 1937 movie doing what it needs to do. 🤷‍♂️

Honestly, the best part is the atmosphere. It’s got that dusty, tired feeling of a world that’s struggling to get by. It makes the brother's turn to crime feel almost logical, which is a weird thing to say about a plot that’s essentially a morality play.

Don't expect a masterpiece. Just expect a solid hour or so of black-and-white trouble. Sometimes, that’s all you really need on a Tuesday night.