The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Encyclopedia
The Incredible Shrinking Woman is a 1981
science fiction
/comedy film
, starring Lily Tomlin
, Charles Grodin
, Ned Beatty
, John Glover
and Elizabeth Wilson
, and directed by Joel Schumacher
. The film was written by Tomlin's longtime life partner and frequent collaborator, Jane Wagner
. The original music score was composed by Suzanne Ciani
. This film is a take-off on the 1957 science fiction classic The Incredible Shrinking Man
, and credited as based on Richard Matheson
's novel
, The Shrinking Man
.
, and capturing the hearts of the American people. Soon she is less than a foot tall, making her like a doll to her children, and forcing her to move into a dollhouse.
Pat is kidnapped by a group of mad scientist
s, who make it seem that she perished in the kitchen garbage disposal. They plan to shrink everyone in the world by performing experiments on her to learn her secret. With the help of a kind young lab custodian and a super-intelligent gorilla named Sydney, she escapes. She shrinks to microscopic size and falls into a puddle of spilled household chemicals - which makes her return to normal size. The film ends with her homecoming. However, when her foot makes her shoe split open, the audience is led to believe she will continue to grow in size.
Actor Dick Wilson
plays a fussy supermarket manager - much like his famous Charmin tissue TV commercial character: Mr. Whipple
.
Rick Baker played Sidney the Gorilla. In 1981, he was the very first recipient of the Oscar for Best Make-Up for An American Werewolf in London
when the category was first introduced. Baker's career, especially his early fascination with gorillas and his work in three movies featuring them is told in the TV documentary Gorillas: Primal Contact.
Lily Tomlin and Elizabeth Wilson previously appeared together in Nine to Five
as Violet Newstead and Roz Keith, respectively. Lily Tomlin plays four characters in this film: lead character Pat Kramer, her neighbor Judith Beasley (from her Broadway shows), Tomlin's Laugh-In characters "Ernestine" (a telephone operator
) and "Edith Ann" (a little girl) who wanders in the lab (shown in the TV version).
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
/comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, starring Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
, Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin is an American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968...
, Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
, John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
and Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Welter Wilson is an American actress. She was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007.-Life and career:Wilson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Marie Ethel and Henry Dunning Wilson, who was an insurance agent...
, and directed by Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
. The film was written by Tomlin's longtime life partner and frequent collaborator, Jane Wagner
Jane Wagner
Jane Wagner is an American writer, director and producer. Wagner is best known as Lily Tomlin's comedy writer, collaborator and life partner....
. The original music score was composed by Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani is an Italian American pianist and music composer who found early success with innovative electronic music.-Education:...
. This film is a take-off on the 1957 science fiction classic The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Incredible Shrinking Man is a 1957 science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold and adapted for the screen by Richard Matheson from his novel The Shrinking Man ....
, and credited as based on Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, The Shrinking Man
The Shrinking Man
The Shrinking Man is a novel by Richard Matheson published in 1956. It was adapted into a motion picture called The Incredible Shrinking Man in 1957 by Universal Pictures. A remake has been proposed which has been pushed back several times from 2001 to the current day; at one point it was to have...
.
Plot
Pat Kramer is an ordinary suburban housewife and mother until she gets exposed to a new experimental perfume from her husband's company. Soon after, she loses two inches in height and her clothes start to get big on her. Pat's doctor thinks he made a mistake on her chart, but that night Pat measures herself and she faces the truth that she is getting smaller. The next day her doctor takes x-rays which clearly show that she is getting smaller. A fews weeks pass, and Pat has shrunk to the height of her own children. Eventually, she becomes a celebrity of sorts, appearing on The Mike Douglas ShowThe Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, and capturing the hearts of the American people. Soon she is less than a foot tall, making her like a doll to her children, and forcing her to move into a dollhouse.
Pat is kidnapped by a group of mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
s, who make it seem that she perished in the kitchen garbage disposal. They plan to shrink everyone in the world by performing experiments on her to learn her secret. With the help of a kind young lab custodian and a super-intelligent gorilla named Sydney, she escapes. She shrinks to microscopic size and falls into a puddle of spilled household chemicals - which makes her return to normal size. The film ends with her homecoming. However, when her foot makes her shoe split open, the audience is led to believe she will continue to grow in size.
Cast
- Lily TomlinLily TomlinMary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
.... Pat Kramer/Judith Beasley - Charles GrodinCharles GrodinCharles Grodin is an American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including The Virginian. He had a small part as an obstetrician in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby in 1968...
.... Vance Kramer - Ned BeattyNed BeattyNed Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
.... Dan Beame - Henry GibsonHenry GibsonHenry Gibson was an American actor and songwriter, best known as a cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and for his recurring role as Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
.... Dr. Eugene Nortz - Elizabeth WilsonElizabeth WilsonElizabeth Welter Wilson is an American actress. She was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007.-Life and career:Wilson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Marie Ethel and Henry Dunning Wilson, who was an insurance agent...
.... Dr. Ruth Ruth - Mark BlankfieldMark BlankfieldMark Blankfield — born May 8, 1950, in Pasadena, California — is a comedic actor who has starred or appeared in many movies and television shows. His work includes :* The starring role in Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again....
.... Rob - Maria Smith .... Concepcion
- Pamela BellwoodPamela BellwoodPamela Bellwood is an American actress most famous for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington on the 1980s prime time soap opera, Dynasty....
.... Sandra Dyson - John GloverJohn Glover (actor)John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
.... Tom Keller - Nicholas Hormann .... Logan Carver
- Jim McMullanJim McMullanJim McMullan, born October 13, 1936, is an American actor from Long Island, New York best known for his role as Dr. Terry McDaniel on the 1960s series Ben Casey and as Senator Andrew Dowling on the CBS Primetime Soap Opera Dallas.-Career:...
.... Lyle Parks (as James McMullan) - Shelby Balik .... Beth Kramer
- Justin Dana .... Jeff Kramer
- Rick Baker .... Sidney (as Richard A. Baker)
- Mike Douglas .... Himself
- Dick WilsonDick WilsonDick Wilson, born Riccardo DiGuglielmo , was a British-born American character actor who played the role of finicky grocery store manager Mr...
.... Store Manager - Sally KirklandSally KirklandSally Kirkland is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Kirkland was named after her mother, fashion editor Sally Kirkland, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines, and was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Frederic McMichael Kirkland, worked in the scrap...
.... Store Cashier
Actor Dick Wilson
Dick Wilson
Dick Wilson, born Riccardo DiGuglielmo , was a British-born American character actor who played the role of finicky grocery store manager Mr...
plays a fussy supermarket manager - much like his famous Charmin tissue TV commercial character: Mr. Whipple
Mr. Whipple
Mr. George Whipple is a fictional supermarket manager featured in television commercials and print advertisements that ran in the United States and Canada from 1964 to 1985 for Charmin toilet paper...
.
Rick Baker played Sidney the Gorilla. In 1981, he was the very first recipient of the Oscar for Best Make-Up for An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
when the category was first introduced. Baker's career, especially his early fascination with gorillas and his work in three movies featuring them is told in the TV documentary Gorillas: Primal Contact.
Lily Tomlin and Elizabeth Wilson previously appeared together in Nine to Five
Nine to Five
9 to 5 is a 1980 American comedy film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman. The film concerns three working women living out their fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical...
as Violet Newstead and Roz Keith, respectively. Lily Tomlin plays four characters in this film: lead character Pat Kramer, her neighbor Judith Beasley (from her Broadway shows), Tomlin's Laugh-In characters "Ernestine" (a telephone operator
Telephone operator
A telephone operator is either* a person who provides assistance to a telephone caller, usually in the placing of operator assisted telephone calls such as calls from a pay phone, collect calls , calls which are billed to a credit card, station-to-station and person-to-person calls, and certain...
) and "Edith Ann" (a little girl) who wanders in the lab (shown in the TV version).
Soundtrack
- "Galaxy Glue" by Linda NovemberLinda NovemberLinda Ellen November is an American singer who sang tens of thousands of commercial jingles. She was the voice of the singing cat in the Meow Mix commercials, sang the jingle "Galaxy Glue" in the 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, the "Coke and a Smile" jingle in the classic Mean Joe Greene...
(Billy Davis) - "Little Things Mean a Lot" by Mike Douglas
- "Don't Tell Me Why" by the Brainiacs