尽管上映时遭遇恶评，尼古拉斯.雷德《高于生活》如今已被公认为50年代最好的美国电影之一。一位和善的教师因为服用激素治疗疾病而染上了药物依赖，性情变得暴躁无常，甚至产生幻觉......影片以紧张窒息的家庭生活为切口，传神描绘出艾森豪威尔执政时期，处于核大战威胁下的美国人心态。
Schoolteacher and family man Ed Avery, who's been suffering bouts of severe pain and even blackouts, is hospitalized with what's diagnosed as a rare inflammation of the arteries. Told by doctors that he probably has only months to live, Ed agrees to an experimental treatment: doses of the hormone cortisone. Ed makes a remarkable recovery, and returns home to his wife, Lou, and their son, Richie. He must keep taking cortisone tablets regularly to prevent a recurrence of his illness. But the "miracle" cure turns into its own nightmare as Ed starts to abuse the tablets, causing him to experience increasingly wild mood swings.
