THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957)

DIRECTED by Jack Arnold.

SCREENPLAY by Richard Matheson & Richard Allan Simmons based on the novel "The Shrinking Man" by Richard Matheson. 

STARRING  - Grant Williams as Robert "Scott" Carey,  Randy Stuart as Louise Carey,  April Kent as Clarice Bruce,  Paul Langton as Charlie Carey,  Orangey as Butch the Cat.

PLOT  - Scott Carey is a man with everything to live for - he has a lovely wife, a beautiful home in a good neighbourhood and a successful career, he is a man living the American dream to the full. Until one day whilst on holiday, his boat is subsumed by a strange radioactive cloud. Scott is showered upon by a glittering, irradiated rain. At first, there are no effects...

Several months later, Scott begins to lose height. Just a few inches at first, but soon those inches turn into feet and Scott Carey becomes the world's first shrinking man.

He loses his job, his pride, his status. Eventually his relationship with his wife begins to crumble, however these things soon become the least of Scott's problems. For Scott is shrinking further and further by the day and very soon he's just a few inches high, trapped in a cellar with no way out...and out there, in the damp, concrete depths...there lurks a ravenous spider...

DIALOUGE  - Scott (narration) - "I was continuing to shrink, becoming what ? The infinitesimal ? What was I ? Still a human being ? Or was I the man of the future ? If there where other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world ?"

PERFORMANCES  - The performance that holds this entire movie together is that of Grant Williams playing Robert "Scott" Carey - the shrinking man (for easiness let's just refer to him as Scott from now on, no one in the film calls him Robert, so why it's listed as that in the credits I have no idea.). Grant plays the role very well, showing Scott's initial confusion, then growing horror, desperation and despair at the bizzare situation in which he finds himself. His performance is aided by the brilliant set design with it's oversized furniture and, eventually, oversized household items which threaten to overwhelm him as he decreases in height. Williams is probably at his most effective when Scott is about the size of a child, he almost seems to take on childlike mannerisms and looks like a toddler having a tantrum when he gets angry about his situation. It's almost as if his diminished size and status has unconsciously started to influence his body language. A nice subtle piece of acting.

The other performances are good too but much more fleeting. As the story is told entirely through Scott's eyes, the other characters come and go and eventually drop out of his life as he, in turn, drops out of thiers. Randy Stuart as Louise - Scott's wife - is more likeable than the character is in the original novel. The book version of Louise seems a lot crueler to Scott (it's implied that she starts to have an affair with Scott's brother as Scott shrinks, which fits in with the novel's deeper theme of loss of masculinity), here though, Louise is a doting and faithful wife who genuinely loves her husband and seems to mourn him whilst he's still alive and gradually shrinking. Knowing in her heart of hearts that the day is coming ever closer when he will be lost to her forever.

A side note here. 'Movie Scott' is also more sympathetic than 'Book Scott'. In the novel, when Scott starts shrinking, he becomes sexualy frustrated at not being "man enough" to make love to his wife anymore. As a result of this he starts to harbour sexual feelings for the underage girl who babysits for the Careys...yeah...way to go Richard Matheson - totally blow any sympathy the reader may have for Scott's plight by turning him into a paedophile for a chapter. Thankfully, and wisely, the movie version omits this plot point and Scott remains likeable and sympathetic throughout.

Being the massive cat lover that I am, I can't leave the acting section of this review without a quick mention of the films other star...Orangey the cat as the Carey's family pet, Butch. Orangey was a prolific animal actor throughout the 50's and 60's. Throughout his long and distinguished career he appeared in ten films (his most famous role being in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (1961), credited, unsurprisingly, as 'Cat'). He also appeared in eight TV shows, including 'Mission Impossible' and 'Batman'. Wow, eighteen onscreen roles...that's more than some human actors get. In this film, he go's from being a loving family pet to a deadly predator when Scott shrinks to mouse sized proportions. Orangey is great.

Yeah...get him Orangey !!!

SFX - For it's time this film must have looked stunning. The illusion of Scott shrinking in size is achieved by a mixture of clever set design, utilising giant sized sets to dwarf the actor and some neat camera angles and techniques. Williams is superimposed onto the screen in many scenes which suggests he was acting against a greenscreen (or equivalent) when interacting with other characters and creatures.

SEX & VIOLENCE - There's very little of either (its not really that kind of film), unless you count violence commited against a mammoth proportioned house spider in the film's closing scenes.

RATING - An enjoyable film this, it downplays much of the original novel's subtext and gets on with telling a fast paced, entertaining story. The sections at the beginning where Scott is coming to terms with his newfound problems are well played by all concerned, and the end scenes, where it becomes a deadly battle for survival between man and spider are exciting and well paced, bringing a sense of adventure to the movie. One aspect I like about these scenes is that as you watch Scott traverse the hostile terrain of the house's cellar, you actually find yourself figuring out alongside him, how you yourself would tackle the problems and obstacles that Scott comes up against. It brings a nice level of immersion into the film and makes for a memorable viewing experience.

Overall - 5 shrunken husbands out of 5.