The Incredible Shrinking Man

 

Moviedrome Introduction

Film Details

Release Date: 1957

Director: Jack Arnold

Stars:

Grant Williams as Scott Carey
Randy Stuart as Louise Carey, Scott's wife

Plot Summary 

The story follows Scott Carey, an ordinary man who begins to shrink after being exposed to a mysterious cloud while on a boating trip. As he becomes smaller, his life takes a series of dramatic turns. Everyday objects become massive obstacles, and household pets become deadly predators. The film explores Scott's struggle for survival as he continues to shrink to microscopic size, battling not only physical dangers but also his own sense of identity and purpose.

Personal History

Think this falls into the category "aware of, but not actually seen".

I did watch "Honey, I shrunk the kids".

Current Review

Moviedrome seems a little stuck in the 1950s SciFi genre, with this coming hot off the heals of the The Thing and the slightly later Man with the X Ray eyes.

An enjoyable romp, with a fine ending. One is always wondering how a film like this ends but the philosophical monologue as Grant accepts his fate is unexpected.

Still, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Grant and his new bride are on a boating holiday. She goes below deck and Grant is exposed to an odd mist hoovering over the ocean. A brief section as he starts to realise he is getting smaller. His clothes aren't fitting. He is losing weight. He bride cuts short his self pity by saying "she will always be with him whilst he is still wearing this ring". Just as Grant's wedding ring drops off.

The special affects are prop based - so massive household objects as Grant gets smaller and smaller. We start with big chairs. We end up with him living in a dolls house.

An ill advised trip to the shops leaves Grant alone. Until the cat creeps in. We then have a monumental battle for survival as he battles the cat, a spider and a faulty water heater.

Maybe a household spider would have been scarier

80 minutes long - just the correct length - and stands up well over time.

Unusually, they avoid a happy ending but leave something far more profound.

Quirky Facts

• Richard Matheson's book was written as a series of flashbacks so that you got into the cellar with Scott quickly. Universal insisted on a linear story. They also vetoed key sequences, such as Scott spending the night with the female midget, a drunk homosexual who abuses Scott, a gang of teenagers who terrorize him, and Scott becoming a Peeping Tom secretly spying on a teenage baby-sitter. These were rejected as too risqué for 1957.
• Several of the gigantic props (the scissors, nails, and mousetrap for example) were part of the Universal Studio tour for several years.
• Scott Carey's closing soliloquy was added to the script by director Jack Arnold.

Quotes

Scott Carey: I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle. I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends is man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zero. I still exist!

Sustenance

Cheese. From the mouse trap, in the cellar.

Future Inspiration

Richard Matheson was the original author. He also wrote "I am Legend", which went on to be filmed "The Omega Man". Having listened to a podcast about the film, it would appear that the book needs to be read, if only for the differences. If for no other reason than to confirm the details in bullet point one of the quirky facts.

The film and author is frequently name-checked in Stephen King's Danse Macabre.