Bigger Than Life, 1956 (Grade C)

Directory Nicholas Ray
Awards--not that we know of
Stars: James Mason; Barbara Rush; Walter Matthau; Robert F. Simon; Chris Olsen; Roland Winters; Rusty Land; Rachel Stephens; Kipp Hamilton

sez says: My dad didn't need cortisone to act like Mason does in this film when he is all hopped-up on the new wonder drug cortisone.  Indeed, without drugs my father had tendencies toward being the same kind of Ubermensch-maniac that Mason portrays.  So excuse me if I find it hard to report without bias about a movie that tries to depict a man like this.  All I could think was what the HE-double-LL-- is his wife doing? Call the doctor and get out of there. But truth is, in the 1950s women were not so likely to act independently--men were suppose to be in charge--and most women were in fact economically dependent on their husbands. So exposing a spouse's misbehavior to the outside world could be a bigger threat than the raucous behavior that was going on behind the doors to your house.   Barbara Rush's acting was awful. And Mason's was not as good as he was capable of. But, sorry for me and my siblings and for her too, my mother's behavior was not unlike that depicted by Rush.  But then the movie is suppose to be about the dangers of miracle drugs--esp if not dosed correctly --and that continues to be a problem today.  (Grade C)