The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

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

Release Date:

April 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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:

Insecticide | Cat | Cellar | Spider | 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)
Elliot 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
Ray Anthony	....	musician: solo trumpet
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 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Passed | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Orson Welles did the narration for the trailer for this film. He was at Universal working on Touch of Evil (1958)

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:

Scott Carey: The cellar stretched before me like some vast primeval plain, empty of life, littered with the relics of a vanished race. No desert island castaway ever faced so bleak a prospect.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#35.13)" (2006)

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.