The Man in the White Suit (1951)

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Roger MacDougall (play)
Roger MacDougall (screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Drama

Tagline:

Guinness is Back...Working Wonders With Wile, Whimsey and Wit!

Plot:

An altruistic chemist invents a fabric that resists wear and stain as boon to humanity but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.

Plot Keywords:

Greed | Social Commentary | Washer Woman | Capitalism | Landlady

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	Sidney Stratton
Joan Greenwood	...	Daphne Birnley
Cecil Parker	...	Alan Birnley
Michael Gough	...	Michael Corland
Ernest Thesiger	...	Sir John Kierlaw
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Cranford (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Henry Mollison	...	Hoskins
Vida Hope	...	Bertha
Patric Doonan	...	Frank
Duncan Lamont	...	Harry
Harold Goodwin	...	Wilkins
Colin Gordon	...	Hill
Joan Harben	...	Miss Johnson
Arthur Howard	...	Roberts
Roddy Hughes	...	Green

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | UK:U | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Brimsdown Station, Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

The sounds of Stratton's experiment were later set to music and released as "The White Suit Samba".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Harrison is called by a woman because he is wanted by Mr. Corland, he is blowing into a glass vial on a side counter which was not there in the previous shot.

Quotes:

Mrs. Watson, Sidney's landlady: Why can't you scientists leave things alone? What about my bit of washing when there's no washing to do?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Future Schlock (1984)

Classic Ealing Gem

The Man in the White Suit is one of those delightful comedies that Ealing studies made so well in the 40's and 50's. The plot of this one follows a man that invents a cloth that neither gets dirty nor breaks. Of course, this is a huge breakthrough in the world of textiles. However, things are not that simple as the cloth will threaten the way of life of many people, including cloth manufacturers, the cloth mill's workforces, and even an old lady that does her washing every week. The Man in the White Suit is a film about scientific advances, and the way that they don't always help; as the old woman says at one point in the movie, "Why cant you scientists just leave things alone?"

Like a lot Ealing comedies, this one stars Sir Alec Guinness. Alec Guinness is a fantastic actor; he has the ability to light up the screen with his presence (and he does in this film, literally), but he also manages to portray his characters in a down to earth and believable way. He is suitably creepy in this film, and he captures just the right atmosphere for his character; an intelligent and ambitious, but slightly naive scientist. Along with Guinness, The Man in the White Suit also features Joan Greenwood, the deep voiced actress that co-starred with Guinness in the simply divine "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and Michael Gough, a man that would go on to get himself the role of Alfred in the Batman films. The acting in the film isn't always great, but it is always decent, and it's fits with the film.

The Man in the White Suit is an intelligent, thought-provoking and witty comedy with a moral. The comedy isn't always obvious, and it doesn't always work, but the film is not meant to be a film that provokes belly laughs, so that is forgivable. I recommend this movie, basically, to anyone that is a fan of movies.