The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957 Jack Arnold)

It was a dangerous business being out on a boat in the 1950s - you never knew what kind of 'strange mist' you might run in to (though there's also a suggestion in Richard Matheson's screenplay that he's been affected by a chemical spray, which is quite ahead of its time).

Once you buy the idea though the film is made with such sincerity and ingenuity that you are completely hooked - possibly why its reputation (for a B movie) has remained strong. Universal's budget is up for some quite clever trick photography and the thing that kept making me titter is the fun they must have had creating the giant props in all sorts of sizes, from an oversized armchair to a giant ball of cotton and a pin cushion - you would hope there were various fun on-set photos taken, though you wouldn't want to run into the giant spider model late at night in the studio. Yes, once again the name of the art director is Alexander Golitzen (with Robert Clatworthy)!

Of said arachnid, he doesn't get much credit considering the action scenes he's in - I'd like to think he's played by Alfred the Hollywood Spider, who later co-starred with Sean Connery in  Dr. No.

Has a quite metaphysical ending too, apparently added by Arnold.

Grant Williams is the shrinking man, who was on TV a lot, but also had appeared in Universal's Written on the Wind, also produced by Albert Zugsmith. With Randy Stuart, April Kent and Billy Curtis.