The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
86%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 1 nomination
A curiously sensitive and spiritual addition to the Universal Monsters line-up, tacking on deep questions about a story who is shrinking to death
The Incredible Shrinking Man is a classic sci-fi film that will leave you feeling both fascinated and horrified. The special effects may not be perfect, but they’re still pretty darn impressive for their time. And while the acting may not be top-notch, it’s still worth watching just to see the incredible shrinking man fight a spider with a straight pin. Overall, it’s a haunting and unusual horror melodrama that’s sure to entertain any sci-fi fan. Just make sure you don’t disappear before the hero does!
Production Company(ies)
Nero-Film AG,
Distributor
Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Home Video, Ultra Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1957
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 21m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 1, 1957 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2008
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
starring Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, William Schallert, Billy Curtis, directed by Jack Arnold, written by Richard Matheson, sci-fi, Universal Monsters, radioactive cloud, shrinking, doctor, wife, cure, national sensation, oversized props, rear projection, split screen, models, survival, exploitation, gender role reversal, morality, B-movie, Cold War, universe, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jean Yothers, Mae Tinee, Marjory Adams, Helen Bower, Jack Anderson, Myles Standish, James Kendrick, Matt Brunson, Florence Epstein, Janet Graves, Jay Carmody, P.S Harrison, produced by Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Home Video, Ultra Pictures, MPAA rating: N/A
Worldwide gross: $2,580
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $30,938
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,106
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,374
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Randy Stuart – Louise Carey
April Kent – Clarice
Paul Langton – Charlie Carey
William Schallert – Doctor Arthur Bramson
Billy Curtis – Midget
Director(s)
Jack Arnold
Writer(s)
Richard Matheson
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (9)
The film’s trick photography is pretty good. The acting, pretty poor. Regardless, it holds a horrible fascination.
September 24, 2021
Jean Yothers
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Oversize sets and trick photography are extremely obvious and utterly unconvincing.
September 24, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It will be pleasant to see Williams and Miss Stuart again. They are far better theatrically than the usual run of players in this type of picture.
September 24, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
It doesn’t matter that the cast has no “name” players. The strange story and the special effects, are the thing.
September 24, 2021
Helen Bower
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
As a science-fiction effort it’s an interesting film and certainly great credit should go to U-I’s cameramen and other technicians for their ingenious film and scale model work.
September 24, 2021
Jack Anderson
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
These sequences, done with great ingenuity and some good trick photography, are so gruesome as to be downright unpleasant.
September 24, 2021
Myles Standish
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
The fact that it succeeds so well in engaging us on the level of pure experience while also challenging the social norms and conventions of its era makes it a unique and compelling film, far outstripping its B-movie status.
January 5, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Resting on the same elevated plateau as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers as among the best of the science fiction films of the 1950s.
November 7, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Ever see a man four inches tall? There he is, living in a doll’s house, until the cat puts him out. Two inches tall — he’s moved into a match box in the cellar and is fighting a spider for food in a duel to the death with a straight pin.
September 24, 2021
Florence Epstein
Modern Screen
The plot has no subtleties, but set designs and photography are so ingenious that the story is haunting.
September 24, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Janet Graves
Photoplay
The moviegoer who is not a science-fiction addict might well come to the conclusion that he should disappear before the film’s hero does. Or, better still, not show up at all.
September 24, 2021
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
An unusual and fascinating horror melodrama.
September 24, 2021
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Grant Williams as Scott Carey and Randy Stuart as his wife, Louise Carey.
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