SYNOPSIS: Based on an actual case history, this movie "dramatically portrays the evils of an indiscriminate use of drugs" such as cortisone and similar steroids like prednisone. NOTES: Mason's first film as a producer and Fox's 59th CinemaScope feature.COMMENT: All the controversy surrounding this film when it was first released has now been forgotten. Although there are still people in the community who would undoubtedly benefit by its message, the film must ultimately stand or fall by the power of its own dramatic story, the credibility of its characterizations, the realism of its acting, and the vigor of its direction. On all these counts, it fails dismally. The story is not forceful. It is dull, long and over-drawn. The characters come over as humdrum, uninteresting, pasteboard figures. They seem not bigger than life, but smaller. Much smaller. The acting, especially by the principals, is often unconvincing. And as for the direction, plodding and uninspired seem too mild to describe the lifeless, static, pedestrian and completely lacking in visual appeal picturization here presented by Nicholas Ray. To quote Rupert Butler: "Some of the CinemaScope set-ups are noticeably awkward and primitive. The use of the wider screen and color seem unnecessary."

Even if I've liked (Rebel Without A Cause) or disliked (In A Lonely Place, unfortunately) a Nicholas Ray film, there's no denying that they are rich experiences which make the most out of their material. Even though Bigger Than Life is clearly of its time it doesn't feel dated at all. In fact, it was recommended to me for the similarities in the protagonist and plot of Breaking Bad. What took me off guard at first with the film is the quick pacing, it made it extremely engaging, surpassing Rebel actually. The highlight is the rich cinematography. It can be a little on-the- nose with its symbolism, but it doesn't overshadow its purpose. However, the ending does leave on a little bit of a sour and unbelievable note, although the premise of the film requires a little suspension of belief anyway. Interesting premise well executed. I should check out more Ray, especially Johnny Guitar.8/10

this is a very fun movie, especially to see with a responsive crowd. well meaning but overheated with casting that adds to the silliness resulting in a campy drama. (and for this I compare it to Mildred P, the films aren't terribly similar in any detail. this story is far simpler)there is also a very nice score by David Raksin* who seems to have been breathing the same "Atmostpheres" as Györgi Ligeti in a tech-y EKG sequence.* whose name I always thought was "Raskin" and it seems to me that William Winant, who knew or studied with DR pronounced it "Raskin" as well, but then on NPR I kept hearing "Raksin" and then came here to check, as the NPR guide also listed the composer's name as "Raksin"(I only mention this because I didn't have enough lines to publish the review.)

This must have been something of a shocker when it was first released back in the 50s because some later scenes – as Mason's psychosis really takes hold - are still powerful today. It's faintly curious, then, that Bigger Than Life isn't as well known as you might expect for what is something of a trailblazer.Mason plays Ed Avary, an average Joe ('Dull' is his self-description). He was briefly a high-school football hero and appears too intelligent for his modest job and home (a bit like George Bailey, in a way) but seems happy enough with his lot: he loves his family, and is kind to fellow colleagues – whether taxi drivers or schoolteachers. But when Ed begins suffering from crippling pains, his doctors diagnose a nasty case of phenopharbomedicalasosis (or something). Needless to say, this isn't the best news Ed has had that year, and his only chance of staying alive beyond the next six months is to stay regularly dosed up on cortisone. The trouble is Ed keeps forgetting he's already taken a pill and ends up undergoing a frightening psychological transformation into a manic-depressive gripped by religious mania and an overwhelming desire to teach his son maths as the drugs begin to consume him.Aspects of this film are inevitably dated, and it's let down by the final five minutes (today, a director might be tempted to end it when Ed's troubled wife and son enter his hospital room, leaving the audience to wonder what they'll find beyond), but it's still a mightily impressive piece of work. Ed's tailspin into manic-depression is necessarily accelerated by the modest running time, but director Nicholas Ray and his writers (who included, at some point or other, Gavin Lambert, Clifford Odets and leading man Mason) give plenty of signs of the direction Mason's madness will take from the off (talk of Caesar and Colossus, pictures and maps of countries from around the world on the walls of his modest home, etc). Some of the symbolism is a little over the top – cracked mirrors, dark shadows, Ed framed by the cold unyielding lines of the lamp on his desk – but at other times Ray creates just the right effect (compare the comparative sizes of Ed's and his wife's shadow as she tries to coax him out of teaching his son maths like some petty tyrant).The domestic scenes are quite unsettling in their mingling of the routine with the frighteningly off-kilter. Ed plays ball with his son – but he makes him play the same move over and over again, and does nothing to hide his disappointment when junior fails to come up to scratch; dad helps junior with his homework – compulsively, obsessively, and at the forfeit of meals; prayers at the evening meal are followed by a tense inquisition into why a glassful of milk is missing from the pitcher. And so on. It all builds to an overwrought (and rapid) but believable conclusion until his best friend Walter Matthau socks him on the jaw and puts him in hospital.