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Though ignored at the time of its release, Nicholas Ray’s Bigger Than Life is now recognized as one of the great American films of the 1950s. When a friendly, successful suburban teacher and father (James Mason, in one of his most indelible roles) is prescribed cortisone for a painful, possibly fatal affliction, he grows dangerously addicted to the experimental drug, resulting in his transformation into a psychotic and ultimately violent household despot. This Eisenhower-era throat-grabber, shot in expressive CinemaScope, is an excoriating take on the nuclear family that it came in the day of Father Knows Best makes it all the more shocking—and wildly entertaining.
Original Release
09/05/1956
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
James Mason | Ed Avery |
Barbara Rush | Lou Avery |
Walter Matthau | Wally Gibbs |
Robert F. Simon | Dr. Norton |
Christopher Olsen | Richie Avery |
Roland Winters | Dr. Ruric |
Rusty Lane | Bob LaPorte |
Rachel Stephens | Nurse |
Kipp Hamilton | Pat Wade |
Dee Aaker | Joe |
Directors
Writers
James Mason, Nicholas Ray, Cyril Hume, Richard Maibaum, Burton Roueche, Gavin Lambert, Clifford Odets
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
James Mason | Ed Avery |
Barbara Rush | Lou Avery |
Walter Matthau | Wally Gibbs |
Robert F. Simon | Dr. Norton |
Christopher Olsen | Richie Avery |
Roland Winters | Dr. Ruric |
Rusty Lane | Bob LaPorte |
Rachel Stephens | Nurse |
Kipp Hamilton | Pat Wade |
Dee Aaker | Joe |
David Bedell | X-Ray Doctor |
Gail Bonney | Mother at PTA Meeting |
Harold Bostwick | Gentleman |
Lovyss Bradley | Churchgoer |
Mary Carroll | Mother at PTA Meeting |
Virginia Carroll | Mrs. Jones |
Mary Carver | Saleslady |
Betty Caulfield | Mrs. LaPorte |
Lonny Chapman | Man at PTA Meeting |
Lewis Charles | Dr. MacLennan |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
James Mason | Producer |