The Man in the White Suit

The Man In The White Suit
DVD cover of The Man in the White Suit
Directed by	Alexander Mackendrick
Produced by	Michael Balcon
Written by	John Dighton Roger MacDougall Alexander Mackendrick
Starring	Alec Guinness Joan Greenwood Cecil Parker
Music by	Benjamin Frankel
Cinematography	Douglas Slocombe
Editing by	Bernard Gribble
Distributed by	GFD
Release date(s)	1951
Running time	85 mins
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Man In The White Suit is a satirical comedy film made in 1951 by Ealing Studios. It starred Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, and Cecil Parker, and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment. In this instance the hero falls afoul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his invention.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External links

Plot

Guinness plays Sidney Stratton, a brilliant and obsessed young researcher working in a textile mill. He invents an incredibly strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out. From its fabric he makes a suit which is brilliant white because it cannot absorb dye, and slightly luminous because it includes radioactive elements. Stratton is lauded as a genius until both management and the trade union realise the consequence of his invention - once consumers have purchased enough cloth, demand will drop precipitously and put the textile industry out of business. The managers try to trick Stratton into signing away the rights to his invention but he refuses. Managers and workers each try to shut him away, but he escapes.

The climax sees Stratton running through the streets at night in his glowing white suit, pursued by both the managers and the employees. As the crowd advances, his suit begins breaking apart as the chemical structure of the fibre breaks apart with time. The mob, realizing that his yarn has a flaw, rips pieces off his suit in triumph, until he is left standing in his underwear. The next day, Stratton is dismissed from his job. Departing, he consults his chemistry notes. A realization hits, and he exclaims "I see!" and strides off to perhaps try again.

Cast

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

References

One panel in Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier depicts Birnley Fabrics in 1958.

Bibliography

• The Great British Films, pp 153-155, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 080650661X

External links

• The Man in the White Suit at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e The films of Alexander Mackendrick 1940s Whisky Galore! 1950s The Man in the White Suit • Mandy • The Maggie • The Ladykillers • Sweet Smell of Success 1960s Sammy Going South • A High Wind in Jamaica • Don't Make Waves Screenplays Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) (with John Dighton) • Dance Hall (1950) (with E.V.H. Emmett and Diana Morgan) Television "The Defenders" (1964)

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