MovieChat Forums > Bigger Than Life (1956) Discussion > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde + in-depth psych...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde + in-depth psychology

posted 17 years ago by kriege10
7 replies | jump to latest

I feel the need to post this after reading the utterly lame review given by some know-it-all who thinks the film is simplistic and "pulls punches". "Bigger than Life" is really a redoing of the Jekyll and Hyde story. It has nothing to do with exposing the truth of cortisone or any other prescription medicine. It doesn't pull punches because it isn't supposed to be an expose. If that is what you are looking for, stick to non-fiction. May I recommend Kevin Trudeau's books? Beyond the clever updating of the Victorian horror story, it has another level, one that runs through most of Ray's films: the neurosis of modern civilized man. Cortisone doesn't create any of Mason's problems, but it does provide the environment for the problems, normally controlled, to develop. He was never a completely healthy, well-adjusted man, and he doesn't return to being one in the deceptive happy ending. Then why show him turning into a monster? This is a way to better reveal his character. We all are so used to showing our polished fronts in every day life, that it is almost impossible really to get a good handle on what makes any of us tick. Cortisone abuse allowed all of Mason's weaknesses to blossom outrageously to the point where you could really see what kind of man he was underneath. That doesn't mean that he was a psychotic monster at bottom. The controls that we put on ourselves do have a beneficial side in that they keep our behavior and even mental states within a normal range. Basically, this film is an in-depth psychological portrait--I don't mean that within a narrow Freudian range, mind--of a good, flawed man.

[–] artihcus022 17 years ago

It's interesting but I wouldn't take the Jekyll and Hyde bit too far.

The similarity I suppose is the fact that all that cortisone did was take all that was buried within and bring it out, his pent up feelings of being a brilliant teacher in a culture of mediocrity was always within him and that drug just brought it to the surface.

He was never a completely healthy, well-adjusted man, and he doesn't return to being one in the deceptive happy ending.

It's not deceptively happy at all. It's a fake ending. That is the whole musical fade out and fade-to-black was something just to satisfy the censors who are obsessed with their cheesy notion of happiness. The point that the film gets across is that the Mason character is trapped there for good and all that cortisone did was take away his inhibitions and face the reality. In the end, when he's treated they're back and he thinks he's alright again.

How much is a good nights sleep worth?

[–] kriege10 17 years ago

Yes and no. I don't know if the ending was imposed on the film or not. It has seemed to me that someone who is neurotic would have to go on living with his neuroses. In addition, the doctors say that Mason has to continue with cortisone, but be more careful as to the dosage in the future, so there is the suggestion that this could happen all over again.

[–] artihcus022 17 years ago

It's not a simple case of imposed by the studio. When it was made, cortisone was a respected drug in America and the film was based on a newspaper article about a real-life incident of side effects. So that's why Ray had to shoot the final scene that way. Corporations selling the drug didn't want people to get the wrong idea about the drug i. e. an idea that the drug might be harmful and therefore derive smaller sales which is what THEY mean by 'wrong idea'. So Ray smuggled* his message through the film so as to avoid possible interferences.

They made sure that the censors saw it as a happy ending but then that's just a fake ending. In the sense, Not to be taken seriously. I mean do you actually think Howard Hawks's Scarface cheesy opening message,('What are YOU going to do about it?') or scenes where Italians say that mobsters give Italian-Americans a bad name was intended by Hawks or was to be taken seriously within the film which is non-judgmental about the gangster life.

*For further information on the fine art of 'smuggling' see, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies.

How much is a good nights sleep worth?

[–] kriege10 17 years ago

Those moralistic scenes in "Scarface" look so different that I always thought they were shot by a different director. The ending of "Bigger than Life" seems to bother you more than me. I see your points, but it hasn't affected me in the same way. The father wakes up from sedation and is back to his good old self now that the cortisone is out of his system. It seemed natural to me that his family would be happy. On the other hand, the doctor tells them that he has to continue taking cortisone and that he must be much more careful about the dosage in the future. That suggested to me that the nightmare could happen all over again, and, in any case, the man will always be living near the edge. I haven't seen the Scorsese documentary. Maybe he goes into this question. I don't know. All I can say is that I have never felt let down by the ending.

[–] artihcus022 17 years ago

It doesn't bother me as well. It's just that the ending isn't supposed to be a happy ending. In the end, this intelligent professor with great potential who wantd to make changes in the school ends up right back where he was with nothing to show for.

How much is a good nights sleep worth?

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 13 years ago

I took it as an ambiguous ending. Hopefully, he would be more cautious in the future, but there's always the chance he won't.

I'm the kind of guy, when I move - watch my smoke. But I'm gonna need some good clothes though.

[–] chapmanshomer 13 years ago

I agree with the poster. James Mason's character was always unhappy with his lot, the cortisone just emphasised it. There are little hints at the start of the film which suggest this. His walls are decorated with posters of foreign cities. He tells his wife: "We're dull". He displays an unusual interest in his female work colleague, who seems altogether more exciting than his wife. All of this shows his desire to have adventure and excitement in his life.

He seems at a loss as to why his son would want to watch the tv. After completing the crossword puzzles in the hospital, he says: "they make them too easy nowadays." This shows that he believes his mind to be superior to those around him.

Even the pains he gets could be interpreted as pangs of discontent, another bit of his soul being crushed with each day of 'petty domesticity'. All of these things are debatable, but they're there if you want to see them.

As far as the ending goes, I think it is definitely an unhappy one. The thing that made him abuse his dosage in the first place was the cortisone. The desperate look on his face at the end accentuates this

----------------------------------------------------
"truly, my Satan, thou art but a dunce"-William Blake