Synopsis: 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.

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Production Year: 1956

Reviews:

• "One of the finest pictures of the 1950s.", David Thomson
• "Nicholas Rays masterpiece. Remarkable and subversive.", Geoff Andrew, Time Out