Other Titles • The Man in the White Suit • Der Mann im weißen Anzug (1955)
Synopses for The Man in the White Suit (1951)
1.
Ealing comedy--cozy, gentle, and whimsical, right? In this case, think again. Alexander Mackendrick was always the most politically aware of the Ealing directors, and in The Man in the White Suit (1952) he takes the studio's favorite theme of the little man up against the system and gives it a sharp satirical twist. Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness at his most unworldly), a maverick scientist working in a textile mill, invents a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. He's hailed as a genius--until management and unions alike realize what his brainwave implies. Mackendrick's humor is exact and pointed, and the satire turns savage as a lynch mob of bosses and workers hunt Sidney down through dark, narrow streets. Mackendrick's disenchanted view of class-ridden British society still rings horribly true, and he draws note-perfect performances from the cream of British character actors: Cecil Parker as the liberal mill owner (based, it's said, on Ealing boss Michael Balcon); Ernest Thesiger as the evil old godfather of the industry; and, wittily sensual as Sidney's confidante, the ever-wonderful Joan Greenwood. Plus, listen out for the "voice" of Sidney's bizarre apparatus, the funniest and most unforgettable sound effect ever devised. --Philip Kemp
2.
Based on the play by Roger MacDougall, Alexander Mackendrick’s second film (which he cowrote) is a winning comedy about the battles between labor, capitalists, and scientific dreamers. Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) works quietly at Michael Corland’s (Michael Gough) textile mill until his mysterious, costly lab experiment is discovered. Fired by Corland, Stratton takes a menial job at Alan Birnley’s (Cecil Parker) mill in order to continue his work on the sly. When Daphne (Joan Greenwood), Corland’s fiancée and Birnley’s daughter, discovers his secret, she threatens to expose Stratton. The desperate scientist reveals to Daphne that he has invented an indestructible cloth that never gets dirty. Close to realizing his vision, Stratton celebrates by having a white suit made of the fabric (because it repels dye). The trouble, however, is just beginning. The lowly mill workers (who spout market economics in rough accents) fear for their jobs while the mill owners, led by the decrepit Godfather-esque Sir John Kierlaw (Ernest Thesiger), worry about their profits. In a series of entertaining chase scenes and attempted double crosses, the impish yet determined Stratton (sporting his luminous suit) struggles to defend his hard-won discovery from the mob.
3.
The Alec Guiness Collection
Sir Alec Guinness delivers one of his most beloved performances as Sidney Stratton, an eccentric chemist who one day invents a fiber that never wrinkles, wears out of gets dirty. But when the mill owners and workers both realize that this miracle fabric will destroy their industry, Sidney suddenly becomes the most hunted man in the nation. Can a young idealist trapped between big business and mad unions find safety in science or will the future of Britain become unraveled by one extraordinary suit?
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick (The Ladykillers, Sweet Smell of Success), The Man in the White Suit received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and is considered by fans and critics alike as the definitive Guiness/Ealing comedy. The Alec Guinness Collection presents this screen legend's classic comedies including Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers and The Captain's Paradise, all still considered to be among the greatest movie comedies ever made.
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