Hey kids — don’t go running through any radioactive mists!  That’s the message of 1957’s “The Incredible Shrinking Man.”  Okay … it’s actually a little more complicated than that.   Grant Williams’ titular doomed protagonist was exposed first to insecticides, and then to the mist a couple of weeks later — so it was sort of a one-two toxic punch.  (I am linking here, by the way, to the Video Detective channel on Youtube for the trailer below.)

This movie rocked my world when I was a first- or second-grader.  It was the sort of thing that aired periodically on weekend television in the early 1980’s.  I’ll never forget the awe I felt … along with confusion at the abstract closing narration.  What did all that mean?  What happens to him next?

I was surprised to learn tonight that this was adapted from a Richard Matheson novel.  (He also wrote this screenplay adaptation.)

It’s … actually pretty good!  It holds up surprisingly well over time.  And the simple special effects are nonetheless effective.  (I’ll bet the props and sets people had a lot of fun designing giant objects to make Williams appear progressively smaller by comparison.)

Fun stuff.