After Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.

Storyline

Scott Carey and his wife Louise are sunning themselves on their cabin cruiser, the small craft adrift on a calm sea. While his wife is below deck, a low mist passes over him. Scott, lying in the sun, is sprinkled with glittery particles that quickly evaporate. Later he is accidentally sprayed with an insecticide while driving and, in the next few days, he finds that he has begun to shrink. First just a few inches, so that his clothes no longer fit, then a little more. Soon he is only three feet tall, and a national curiosity. At six inches tall he can only live in a doll’s house and even that becomes impossible when his cat breaks in. Scott flees to the cellar, his wife thinks he has been eaten by the cat and the door to the cellar is closed, trapping him in the littered room where, menaced by a giant spider, he struggles to survive.

Out Thoughts on The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) 

When Scott Carey (Grant Williams) begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.

The film starts out interesting enough, with the mist and the shrinkage… but stumbles at points. The superimposing of film was done poorly, and at times you can see through Carey. And what is up with the woman claiming to be a “midget” who is clearly not?

But overall, the effects are pretty good and the creation of the miniature world is interesting. It is nice to see the tarantula from “Tarantula” show up (though I was not aware they lived in people’s basements). There is some message in here about man’s role in the universe, but I think it was pretty lame so I will not even discuss it…

6 out of 10 Stars

Trivia 

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.

The special effects technicians were able to create giant drops of water by filling up condoms and dropping them. According to Jack Arnold about 100 gross of them were ordered. He said, “I put them on a treadmill and let them drop until the water pipe was supposed to burst, and it was very effective. At the end of the picture, I was called to the production office. They were going over all my expenses and they came across this item of 100 gross of condoms, so they asked me, “What the hell is that for?” I simply said, “Well, it was a very tough picture, so I gave a cast party.” And that was all I told them.”

Several of the gigantic props (the scissors, nails, and mousetrap for example) were part of the Universal Studio tour for several years.

If you like this film, be sure to check out our Ultimate Horror Movie Hub