The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Richard Matheson (screenplay)
Richard Matheson (novel)

Release Date:

April 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Almost beyond the imagination . . . A strange adventure into the unknown ! [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Insecticide | Spider | Cellar | Giant Spider

Awards:

1 win

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)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | USA:Passed | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

Continuity: Scott's last height measurement at the Doctors office has him at 36.5 inches. When we first see Clarice being introduced by the carnival barker, he says her height is also 36.5 inches. When they stand up to leave after having coffee together, Scott makes notice of and comments on the fact that he is visibly taller than her.

Quotes:

Clarice: Maybe the best way to begin is to start thinking about the future.
Scott Carey: A future? In a world of giants?
Clarice: Hmm. I've lived with them all my life. Oh, Scott, for people like you and me the world can be a wonderful place. The sky is as blue as it is for the giants. The friends are as warm.
Scott Carey: I wish I could believe that.
Clarice: You've got to believe that, don't you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Career Opportunities (1991)

Soundtrack:

The Incredible Shrinking Man Theme

Thoughtful Sci-Fi

Instead of the typical blood and gore screaming sensationalism of many 1950s sci-fi films, this is an amazingly well thought-out film that is underplayed and even philosophical.

There are some amusing moments in the film, such as when we discover Scott in a dollhouse, but much of the story is handled seriously -- the topics of being different, surviving in an unsympathetic world, crass commercialism, and loneliness are well portrayed.

The theme of the film is what is really amazing. Despite the rather schlocky title, we are given a view of humanity's place in the universe. The final sequence is an imaginative portrait of the balance between the macrocosm and the microcosm.

The film is more than it first appears. Definitely see this one.