The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Whe Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Richard Matheson (screenplay), Richard Matheson (novel),

Stars:

Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Grant Williams	...	Scott Carey
Randy Stuart	...	Louise Carey
April Kent	...	Clarice
Paul Langton	...	Charlie Carey
Raymond Bailey	...	Doctor Thomas Silver
William Schallert	...	Doctor Arthur Bramson
Frank J. Scannell	...	Barker (as Frank Scannell)
Helene Marshall	...	Nurse
Diana Darrin	...	Nurse
Billy Curtis	...	Midget
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lock Martin	...	Giant (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Scott Carey and his wife Louise are sunning themselves on their cabin cruiser, the small craft adrift on a calm sea. While his wife is below deck, a low mist passes over him. Scott, lying in the sun, is sprinkled with glittery particles that quickly evaporate. Later he is accidentally sprayed with an insecticide while driving and, in the next few days, he finds that he has begun to shrink. First just a few inches, so that his clothes no longer fit, then a little more. Soon he is only three feet tall, and a national curiosity. At six inches tall he can only live in a doll's house and even that becomes impossible when his cat breaks in. Scott flees to the cellar, his wife thinks he has been eaten by the cat and the door to the cellar is closed, trapping him in the littered room where, menaced by a giant spider, he struggles to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

insecticide | cat | spider | cellar | boat | 

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Taglines:

A fascinating adventure into the unknown!

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

A hihetetlenül zsugorodó ember

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scott Carey's closing soliloquy was added to the script by director Jack Arnold.

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Goofs

When Scott brings the lampshade to the ground, the lampshade cover falls upside down. Between shots it appears to be turned on its side.

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Quotes

Scott Carey: My prison, almost as far as I could see, a gray friendless area of space and time, and I resolved that as man had dominated the world of the sun, so I would dominate my world.

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Connections

Spoofed in I Dream of Jeannie: My Incredible Shrinking Master (1967)

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Soundtracks

"The Incredible Shrinking Man Theme"
Written by Foster Carling and Earl E. Lawrence
Played by Ray Anthony

User Reviews

One Of The Best Eisenhower Era Science Fiction Films

This is the tale of the very cruel joke played upon a young man by Fate. Against horrifying odds he triumphs and retains his dignity. In so doing, this film is raised from being a merely superior monster movie to one of strangely spiritual significance.

The special effects are still pleasing and the tarantula remains one of Cinema's truly terrifying embodiments of mindless evil.

This was to be Grant William's finest film. He died in 1985 at the age of only 54.