The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) review

While on a boat with his wife Louise (Randy Stuart), Scott (Grant Williams) gets enveloped by a mist, leaving sparkles all over his torso - several months later, he finds his clothes are too big for him and he (wisely) goes to be examined by doctors, who confirm he is becoming smaller ... and soon enough he's living in a matchbox fending off a spider with a nail.  Considering the time this was made and with the budget they had to work with, the special effects and props are extraordinary, making Scott trying to dodge a cat as exciting as climbing a wall to grab a fistful of cheese.  At first I was baffled by the ending ("that's it?" I scribbled down) until I really thought about it ... and realized "shrinking" is a metaphor for the process of aging and accepting one's fate.  I'm not sure if anyone else was expecting a spiritual statement in what's basically an early body horror picture, because I definitely was not.