The Incredible Shrinking Man Movie Review

By any standard, an sf masterpiece. Adapted by Richard Matheson from his own novel, the film is a philosophical thriller about Robert Scott Carey (Grant Williams) who is exposed to a radioactive mist and begins to slowly shrink. Why? That's not really the question. Each new size means that everyday objects take on sinister meaning, and he must fight for his life in an increasingly hostile, absurd environment. If some of the effects are dated, few sf films contain more psychological truths, particularly in regard to men and matters of size. Surreal, suspenseful allegory also has a serious intellectual dimension that's almost never seen in American popular movies. It's also endowed with the tension usually reserved for Hitchcock films. Williams, a familiar figure in sf films of the era, was never more effective. The idea was spoofed in the less-than-satisfactory Incredible Shrinking Woman.

1957 81m/B Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey, William Schallert; D: Jack Arnold; W: Richard Matheson; C: Ellis W. Carter. VHS, Beta, LV MCA, MLB