{"id":16204,"date":"2011-03-09T13:49:23","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T20:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16204"},"modified":"2021-01-14T17:33:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T00:33:18","slug":"incredible-shrinking-man-the-1957","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16204","title":{"rendered":"Incredible Shrinking Man, The (1957)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster-195x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-63347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster-195x300.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster-666x1024.png 666w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster-176x270.png 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Poster.png 715w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhile on a boating excursion with his wife (Randy Stuart), a man (Grant Williams) exposed to atomic radiation soon finds himself shrinking to a smaller and smaller size.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atomic Energy<\/li>\n<li>Jack Arnold Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>Survival<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary accurately notes that while this &#8220;excellent science-fiction film&#8221; may, &#8220;like most fifties SF films, [be] scientifically preposterous&#8221;, it is still &#8220;somehow believable,&#8221; and will &#8220;strike a responsive chord&#8221; in viewers given &#8220;its <em>human<\/em> concerns&#8221;. He points out that Richard Matheson&#8217;s script (based on his novel <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Shrinking_Man\"><em>The Shrinking Man<\/em><\/a>) deals with &#8220;two themes&#8230; central to the other SF films of director Jack Arnold: scientific advances in dangerous areas eventually will be destructive to the individual; [and] there is nothing more horrifying than losing one&#8217;s identity.&#8221; Given its rather simplistic narrative trajectory &#8212; Williams shrinks smaller and smaller, with no permanent cure in sight &#8212; the film maintains a remarkable amount of tension, thanks to both the savvy, literate script (which possesses plenty of thought-provoking dialogue) and truly outstanding special effects (see stills below for a representative sampling). <\/p>\n<p>As we watch Williams &#8212; a &#8220;sympathetic hero&#8221; &#8212; spiraling closer and closer to death, with &#8220;his home no longer a sanctuary but a booby-trapped battlefield where every household item is potentially a weapon that could destroy him&#8221;, we hold our breath in both anticipation and terror. Williams&#8217; valiant struggle to avoid drowning in droplets of water, getting sucked into the vortex of a floor drain, being stepped on by his own brother&#8217;s shoe, or being eaten by a spider, are all terrifying in the distorted universe they present: Williams is truly caught in a living nightmare, with no way out. Meanwhile, we can&#8217;t help feeling enormous empathy for his growing &#8220;sense of inferiority&#8221; in the face of his loyal but &#8220;normal size&#8221; wife (Stuart), who eventually must simply assume that her pin-sized husband has died &#8212; though in reality, he&#8217;s escaped down into the basement, where the final third of the film takes place, nearly dialogue free yet relentlessly exciting. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clifford Stone&#8217;s remarkable special effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects1.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects1-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects1-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects2.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects2-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects3.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects3-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects3-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects4.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects4-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects4-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects5.png 853w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects5-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Incredible-Shrinking-Man-Effects5-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A strong, provocative script:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a definitive 1950s sci-fi classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0050539\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1957\/02\/23\/archives\/screen-mister-cory-success-story-a-la-hollywood-arrives.html\">NY Times Original Review (scroll down to third review) (spoiler alert!)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moria.co.nz\/sciencefiction\/incredible-shrinking-man-1957.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2109sci.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down to third review) (spoiler alerts)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/79182\/the-incredible-shrinking-man\/#articles-reviews?articleId=103594\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/classic-horror.com\/reviews\/incredible_shrinking_man_1957\">Classic-Horror.com Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-incredible-shrinking-man\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget.&#8221; Synopsis: While on a boating excursion with his wife (Randy Stuart), a man (Grant Williams) exposed to atomic radiation soon finds himself shrinking to a smaller and smaller size. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Atomic Energy Jack Arnold Films Living Nightmare Science Fiction Survival Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary accurately notes that while this &#8220;excellent science-fiction film&#8221; may, &#8220;like most fifties SF films, [be] scientifically preposterous&#8221;, it is still &#8220;somehow believable,&#8221; and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16204\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63348,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204\/revisions\/63348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}