Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Nicholas Ray |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Cyril Hume, Richard Maibaum |
| Staring: |
| A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 20, 1956 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Nicholas Ray |
| Writer: | Cyril Hume, Richard Maibaum |
| Genres: | Drama |
| Keywords | husband wife relationship, drug addiction, paranoia, hallucination, family relationships, hospital, drugs, mental illness, schoolteacher, cortisone, verbal abuse, family life, father son relationship, personality change, mood swing |
| Production Companies | 20th Century Fox |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 09, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| James Mason | Ed Avery |
| Barbara Rush | Lou Avery |
| Walter Matthau | Wally Gibbs |
| Robert F. Simon | Dr. Norton |
| Christopher Olsen | Richie Avery |
| Roland Winters | Dr. Ruric |
| Rusty Lane | Bob LaPorte |
| Rachel Stephens | Nurse |
| Kipp Hamilton | Pat Wade |
| Betty Caulfield | Mrs. LaPorte (uncredited) |
| Virginia Carroll | Mrs. Jones (uncredited) |
| Renny McEvoy | Mr. Jones (uncredited) |
| Billy Jones | Mr. Byron (uncredited) |
| Dee Aaker | Joe (uncredited) |
| Jerry Mathers | Freddie (uncredited) |
| Portland Mason | Nancy (uncredited) |
| Natalie Masters | Mrs. Tyndall (uncredited) |
| Richard Collier | Milkman (uncredited) |
| Lewis Charles | Mr. McLennan (uncredited) |
| Gus Schilling | Druggist (uncredited) |
| Alex Frazer | Clergyman (uncredited) |
| Mary McAdoo | Mrs. Edwards (uncredited) |
| Mary Carver | Saleslady (uncredited) |
| Eugenia Paul | Saleslady (uncredited) |
| Gladys Richards | Lab Nurse (uncredited) |
| David Bedell | X-Ray Doctor (uncredited) |
| Joseph Mell | Dispatcher (uncredited) |
| George Chester | Janitor (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Clifford Odets | Additional Writing |
| Cyril Hume | Screenplay, Story |
| Mary Wills | Costume Design |
| Charles LeMaire | Wardrobe Designer |
| Berton Roueché | Short Story |
| Jack Martin Smith | Art Direction |
| Ralph Hickey | Sound Editor |
| Lionel Newman | Conductor |
| David Raksin | Original Music Composer |
| Walter M. Scott | Set Decoration |
| Eli Dunn | Assistant Director |
| Leonard Doss | Other |
| Joseph MacDonald | Director of Photography |
| Louis R. Loeffler | Editor |
| Helen Turpin | Hairstylist |
| Edward B. Powell | Orchestrator |
| Lyle R. Wheeler | Art Direction |
| Stuart A. Reiss | Set Decoration |
| Harry M. Leonard | Sound |
| Ray Bomba | Sound Editor |
| Gavin Lambert | Additional Writing |
| Nicholas Ray | Additional Writing, Director |
| Richard Maibaum | Screenplay, Story |
| W.D. Flick | Sound |
| James Mason | Additional Writing |
| Ben Nye | Makeup Artist |
| Ray Kellogg | Special Effects |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| James Mason | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Actor | James Stewart Welch Jr. | Won |
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 6 |
| 2024 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 7 |
| 2024 | 7 | 13 | 26 | 8 |
| 2024 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 6 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 5 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 6 |
| 2024 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 5 |
| 2025 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Trending Position
The movie deals with serious topics pertaining to life and drug abuse. Ed Avery (James Mason) has a serious condition which can only be controlled with cortisone, a still experimental drug leaving consequences in the human psyche. In the movie, Ed is describes as an intelligent, vibrant and happy ma ... n. He lives a mediocre, but happy life, he has financial problems just like any other man, and in the start of the movie we can see how much he loves his family, and would do anything for his wifes and sons safety. Then, he becomes addicted to cortisone, and almost everything changes, it leaves a scar which changes their quality of life. As any other addictive prescription drug, he becomes obsessed with having to take it. He even impersonates a doctor in order to get it, his son and wife are deeply affected by his actions, and his son, who has almost gone out of his mind looking at his father grow more and more depressed and vulnerable tries to steal his pills, Ed catches him in the act and leaves his child in the room so that he could contemplate about the level of his punishment, he is then affected with the Bible, exactly , the passage with Abraham and his son Isaac. He gets it into his head that, to make things right he needs to murdor his son, and than his wife and himself, of course, he is stopped in the act and the movie ends happily with him getting back to normal and his happy family life.