Bigger Than Life (1956)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Cyril Hume (story) and
Richard Maibaum (story) ...

Release Date:

2 August 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of the handful of hope that became a fistful of hell!

Plot:

A seriously ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a "miracle" drug that begins to affect his sanity.

Plot Keywords:

Schoolteacher | Cortisone | Abuse | Illness | Miracle Drug

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Mason	...	Ed Avery
Barbara Rush	...	Lou Avery
Walter Matthau	...	Wally Gibbs
Robert F. Simon	...	Dr. Norton (as Robert Simon)
Christopher Olsen	...	Richie Avery
Roland Winters	...	Dr. Ruric
Rusty Lane	...	Bob LaPorte
Rachel Stephens	...	Nurse
Kipp Hamilton	...	Pat Wade

Also Known As:

One in a Million (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min | 91 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical prints) (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Though only Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum are credited for the screenplay, the shooting script was entirely re-worked by director Nicholas Ray and actor/producer James Mason, who added the first 20 minutes of the film depicting Ed Avery's daily life before being hospitalized. Re-writes by Ray, his friend Gavin Lambert (who at that time was living together with Ray, recently confessing that they were actually lovers) and Clifford Odets went on all through the shooting process.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 37 minutes into the movie, Ed is at the bathroom sink and has just replaced the pill bottle in the medicine cabinet. As he closes the cabinet door, the director and the camera are reflected in the mirror.

Quotes:

Ed Avery: [of wife Lou] It's a shame that I didn't marry someone who was my intellectual equal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008)

The Father

Although referring to cortisone,"Bigger than life" is rayesque to the core.Davey ("Run for cover" )Plato and Jim ("rebel without a cause")and the Chinese girl ("55 days at Peking") were in search of a father.Even the Jeff/Wes relationship in "lusty men" is of the same kind.

Cortisone is just an alibi.The subject of the film is the paternal power .And this father is also a teacher!The PTA meeting is revealing!

Richie has got a father.But there's a crack in the mirror (Ed's broken reflection is the key to the movie).Little by little,we feel there's something irrational in his attitude.Buying clothes ,It's very natural !Playing football with your sonny,is a right thing to do to be good friends.But ,thanks to James Mason's sensational performance,we feel ill-at-ease,even scared .This fear will culminate in the arithmetic lesson where Mason 's shadow on the wall is terrifying (when Barbara Rush enters the room,see her tiny shadow !it's a lesson in directing a movie).And being a father is not far from being a God .After hearing again in the church the prodigal son story ,it's only natural in Ed's case to feel like Abraham .(His final dream -which we do not see- is extraordinary).

It might be a warning against pills ,drugs and all that stuff.But I rather think it's a warning against "overeducation".As a teacher,I heard about a student's father who spent a WHOLE Saturday afternoon to make sure his unfortunate son did understand the multiples .

Superb performance by James Mason (the scene when his face suddenly appears in the mirror as his boy is searching his room is really spooky),good support from Barbara Rush,Walter Matthau and young Christopher Olsen.