Timothy Shary This little-known movie caught me by surprise, for all kinds of reasons, not the least being Nicholas Ray's awkward adventure into Douglas Sirk territory. More so, the story's focus on the now-more-timely topic of prescription drug addiction is captivating to see from a perspective 60 years later. As a piece of post-war cultural history, it is compelling, dealing as it does with doubts about medicine and concerns about mental illness. As a movie though, I was distracted by its stiff production and histrionic message. It sure is strange enough to keep your attention in any case.

secondtake Bigger than Life (1956)Tightly made, vividly acted film about a contemporary crisis--the use and abuse of a new "miracle" drug. Watching James Mason suffer, and then make other people suffer, and then face the final bells of his life, is half the movie. He's such a uniquely subtle and powerful actor (at the same time), always filled with poise and a whiff of kindly diffidence. In a way, this is a precursor to the recent movie idea in "Limitless," where a drug makes you "bigger than life," though this is no fantasy. The drug here is cortisone, ingested orally. It had been understood as a natural (adrenal gland) steroid hormone and was manufactured (by Merck) and on the market by around 1950. And by 1956 when this movie came out it was considered a new kind of penicillin, but rather than just be an antibiotic, it seemed to just make you stronger against all kinds of ailments, especially those that involved swelling of some kind.Director Nicholas Ray does his usual wonders with interpersonal drama and makes this quite believable, as well as dramatic, and Joe MacDonald does his usual wonders with the camera-work. The writing, too, is crisp and believable (both Ray and Mason helped with the screenplay). In all, it's a top shelf production and a great story.But it fails somehow to be a great film, and I think the main reason is the hook to the plot, about the wonder drug, is a little too neatly packaged, with a few scenes that are almost like public service announcements. We sort of know before we are "supposed" to know that it's going to go bad--the clues go beyond foreshadowing--and so when we find out we are right, the edge is off of the narrative. Only the very end is left hanging, though you figure, with Merck keeping an eye on things, that events really can't go too wrong. According to Wikipedia, the American response at the time was shock and the movie did poorly (I guess because it looked like an attack on the nuclear family, such was the 1950s). But the critics loved it then and like it now. A movie this well made is still a thrill to watch for all the small things--Walter Matthau in a caricatured side role as the good Uncle, the psychological effects as manifest in Mason, and even the glimpse into the attitude toward medicine at the time. I don't think it's a typical reaction to cortisone, however (from what I've read)--this is a particular case where some inherent manic-depression is triggered, and exaggerated. It would be interesting to see this re-calibrated and filmed again in modern times, but with the subtlety here, the destruction of an ordinary family without shameless excess.

Sean Cussen Bigger Than Life was supposed to be just another 20th Century Fox back-lot film, a 'problem' picture stemming from a magazine article. It is a credit to the ingenuity and vision of Nicholas Ray that he managed to deliver a devastating critique of suburban American life in the 50s, all-the-while working within the studio system and not ruffling any feathers.As with all Ray's best films, it is hinged around an erratic and unstable protagonist whom the audience cares for. James Mason gives a fantastically frightening performance, his transatlantic accent only heightening the fact that his character doesn't fit in to this cosy picture of domesticity. The use of colour and decor is pitch perfect, and once again Ray's sense of space and geography shines through. Overall, it's a thoroughly enthralling yet disconcerting experience which (intentionally or not) is about much more than first meets the eye.9/10

MartinHafer The casting of this film is strange. After all, James Mason playing a simple American school teacher is a stretch--especially when he had such a gorgeous British accent. And, when he talks about his great college football career, I couldn't help but laugh (perhaps he meant cricket)! But despite this, it's still a pretty exciting film to watch."Bigger Than Life" is a tale about a normal guy (Mason) who's been diagnosed with a rare and very painful disease. However, with Cortisone therapy prescribed for the rest of his life, he once again appears happy and functional. But, beneath his happy veneer, he's a changed man--full of wild self-confidence and truly full of himself. He's very obnoxious and his family suffers as a result of his odd personality change. But, without the drugs (which the family can ill-afford) he'll die. What they don't know is that the pills fill him with this confidence...and he's been taking more than was prescribed. Only when it's too late does the severity of his drug abuse become all too apparent.I enjoyed this film, as Mason was dynamite in this role. The film is very worth seeing but there was one problem about the film that detracted, a bit, from Mason's great performance. In contrast, his wife (Barbara Rush) was a complete and total wet noodle of a character and was simply too weak and too ineffectual in the movie. So, while Mason's character became crazier and crazier, she just stood back and did nothing (the worst was at the end). And, when Mason became abusive to the boy, she once again did nothing--just hoping, as if by magic, he'd become his sweet old self. Still, aside from that, it's a pretty exciting film to watch.