Rent The Man in the White Suit (1951)
3.8 of 5 from 132 ratings
1h 21min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness), a humble inventor, develops a fabric which never gets dirty or wears out. This would seem to be a boon for mankind, but the established garment manufacturers don't see it that way; they try to suppress it. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures.
- Actors:
- Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Vida Hope, Patric Doonan, Duncan Lamont, Harold Goodwin, Colin Gordon, Joan Harben, Arthur Howard, Roddy Hughes, Stuart Latham, Miles Malleson, Edie Martin, Mandy Miller, Charlotte Mitchell
- Directors:
- Alexander MacKendrick
- Producers:
- Michael Balcon
- Writers:
- Roger MacDougall, John Dighton, Alexander MacKendrick
- Others:
- John Dighton
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Collections:
- 1949: That Ealing Feeling, Pig Power: Animal Farm At 70, A Brief History of Film..., Top 100 BFI Films, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 19/11/2012
- Run Time:
- 85 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Exclusive Revisiting 'The Man In The White Suit' Featurette
- Stills Gallery
- Restoration Comparison
- Trailer
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Reviews (1) of The Man in the White Suit
Comedy fantasy. - The Man in the White Suit review by Steve
Charming Ealing comedy/science fiction which smuggles in a few darker political themes in among the usual whimsy. Alec Guinness plays an eccentric scientist who has to go to extreme lengths to develop an everlasting fabric that would be of great benefit to mankind. But will kill off the textile industry.
The usually antagonistic class interests come together to stop him; the business owners who will lose their profits and the workers who will have no jobs. The film mostly has the energy of farce, and there are quite a few chases. But there is pessimism too. Partly because of the ostentatious gulf between the rich and poor.
But this note of melancholy is mostly due to the implication that Britain is hampered by vested interests which are unable to act for the greater good, or to enable progress. So scientists and visionaries appear as oddball agents of chaos. While this is a funny film, with imaginative plot complications, it's quite downbeat too.
The photography of industrial Lancashire gives the film atmosphere, with great sets and the famous sound effect of the bubbling polymers. Guinness is excellent as the naive genius in a corrupt world. The vision of him running through the dirty streets in his glowing white suit is one of the all time classic images of British cinema.
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