The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Richard Matheson (screenplay)
Richard Matheson (novel)
(more)

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)
John Hiestand	...	KIRL TV newscaster (uncredited)
Joe La Barba	...	Joe (milkman) (uncredited)
Orangey	...	Butch the Cat (uncredited)
Regis Parton	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Luce Potter	...	Violet (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Arnold

Writing credits
Richard Matheson		(screenplay)
Richard Matheson		(novel "The Shrinking Man")
Richard Alan Simmons		uncredited

Produced by
Albert Zugsmith	....	producer

Original Music by
Irving Gertz		(uncredited)
Earl E. Lawrence		(uncredited)
Hans J. Salter		(uncredited)
Herman Stein		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ellis W. Carter

Film Editing by
Albrecht Joseph		(as Al Joseph)

Art Direction by
Robert Clatworthy
Alexander Golitzen

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman
Ruby R. Levitt

Costume Design by
Jay A. Morley Jr.
Martha Bunch		(uncredited)
Rydo Loshak		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist
Jack Kevan	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Lew Leary	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Holland	....	assistant director

Art Department
Floyd Farrington	....	props (uncredited)
Ed Keyes	....	props (uncredited)
Whitey McMahon	....	props (uncredited)
Roy Neel	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Robert Pritchard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Charles Baker	....	special effects (uncredited)
Fred Knoth	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Everett H. Broussard	....	optical effects
Roswell A. Hoffmann	....	optical effects (as Roswell A. Hoffman)

Camera and Electrical Department
Clifford Stine	....	special photography
Tom McCrory	....	special photography (uncredited)
William Walling	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	music supervisor
Harris Ashburn	....	music supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI) (as Universal-International)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ultra Pictures Corporation (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (as "A Universal-International Reissue")
• MCA Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Väinän Filmi (1957) (Finland) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1993) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1980) (Finland) (TV)

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 | USA:TV-PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Passed | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

The special effects technicians were able to create giant drops of water by filling up condoms and dropping them.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Scott and Louise are talking with the doctor and she remembers the day they were in the boat and he mentions the mist, Louise's shirt changes to black as they get into the car.

Quotes:

Scott Carey: [after escaping from the spider] In my hunt for food I had become the hunted. This time I survived, but I was no longer alone in my universe. I had an enemy, the most terrifying ever beheld by human eyes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Batman/Honey, I Shrunk the Kids/Tummy Trouble/Ghostbusters II/Kung-Fu Master!" (1989)

Soundtrack:

The Incredible Shrinking Man Theme

An Unbeatable Sci-Fi Classic!

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (4 outta 5 stars) Not many of those hokey-looking old sci-fi movies from the '50s are still as effective 50 years later... but this one definitely hasn't lost any of its power. Great script written by Richard Matheson, who later went on to do much good work for "The Twilight Zone" and even today is still producing scripts for such films as "Stir of Echoes" and "What Dreams May Come". The story is fairly simple- after passing through a mysterious cloud on the ocean, our hero Scott (Grant Williams) discovers that his clothes seem to start feeling looser. More time passes and he discovers that he is now shorter than his wife. Day after day, he becomes smaller and smaller until he becomes so small that an ordinary housecat becomes a terrifying threat to his very life. The special effects might seem unconvincing to modern eyes... but the otherwise high-quality of the editing and direction make the action scenes as effective and suspenseful as anything you likely to see spewed out by today's CGI factories. I was totally unprepared for the ending of this film... you'd never see a movie end this way nowadays... but you never too many of them end this way back in the '50s either! A classic!