This is one of Nicholas Ray’s 2 best films, the other being the Noir masterpiece, “In A Lonely Place,” with Humphrey Bogart. Made at the height of the Ozzie and Harriet idealized vision of them American family, “Bigger Than Life” traces the decline and fall of a husband-father as he endures the side effects of a new “wonder drug,” Cortizone. James Mason, always excellent, here is at the peak of his powers. Movie is based on an article that appeared in the New Yorker magazine, and Mason himself pushed hard to get the film made. It is, I think, the first movie to highlight the issue of addiction to pain-killer medications that would sadly become even more prevalent in later years.
There are some very powerful and disturbing scenes in this remarkable movie, so naturally it was a box office flop. Barbara Rush is also excellent as Mason’s wife. Under-seen and neglected for decades, this is a movie anyone who enjoys a strong story will want to see. A+