The Man in the White Suit

The Man In The White Suit is a 1951 British satirical science fiction comedy film made by Ealing Studios. It stars Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker and was directed by Alexander Mackendrick. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) for Roger MacDougall, John Dighton and Alexander Mackendrick (who was a cousin of Roger MacDougall).

For the achromatically-attired British politician, see Martin Bell.

The Man in the White Suit
Original quad UK cinema poster.
Directed byAlexander Mackendrick
Produced byMichael Balcon
Written byJohn Dighton
Roger MacDougall
Alexander Mackendrick
StarringAlec Guinness
Joan Greenwood
Cecil Parker
Music byBenjamin Frankel
CinematographyDouglas Slocombe
Edited byBernard Gribble
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
  • 10 August 1951 (1951-08-10)
[1]
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£90,000[2]

It followed a common Ealing Studios theme of the "common man" against the Establishment. In this instance the hero falls foul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his invention.[3]

Plot

Sidney Stratton, a brilliant young research chemist and former Cambridge scholarship recipient, has been dismissed from jobs at several textile mills in the north of England because of his demands for expensive facilities and his obsession with inventing an everlasting fibre. Whilst working as a labourer at the Birnley Mill, he accidentally becomes an unpaid researcher and invents an incredibly strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out. From this fabric, a suit is made—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 unions 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 and bribe 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 to fall apart as the chemical structure of the fibre breaks down with time. The mob, realising the flaw in the process, rip pieces off his suit in triumph, until he is left standing in his underwear. Only Daphne Birnley, the mill-owner's daughter, and Bertha, a works labourer, have sympathy for his disappointment.

The next day, Stratton is dismissed from his job. Departing, he consults his chemistry notes. A realisation hits and he exclaims, "I see!" With that he strides off, perhaps to try again elsewhere.

Cast

Sound

The gurgling musical theme that plays when Sidney Stratton’s apparatus is bubbling or when he is thinking about his invention is not made by musical instruments, but by laboratory equipment.[4]

Reception

The film opened at the Odeon Marble Arch cinema in London on 10 August 1951,[1] and was one of the most popular films of the year in Britain.[5] It earned rentals of $460,000 in the United States and Canada.[6] (This figure was also given as $500,000.[7])

The British Film Institute named it the 58th greatest British film of all time. In 2014 The Guardian included it as one of the twenty best British science fiction films.[8]

Stage adaptation

A stage play based on the film directed by Sean Foley and starring Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon opened at the Theatre Royal, Bath in September 2019 before transferring to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End.

References
  1. "Alec Guinness". Art & Hue. 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (2003). British Cinema of The 1950s The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press USA. p. 285.
  3. Street, Sarah (2008). British national cinema. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-415-38422-3.
  4. Griep, Mark. "The "Guggle Glub Gurgle" Leitmotif of The Man in the White Suit (1951)" (PDF). Chemistry Movies Blog.
  5. "The Queen Year's Leading Figure". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 31 December 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  6. "Alec Guinness Now Money Star in US". Variety. 13 January 1954. p. 2.
  7. "Rank's Rebel Yell". Variety. 6 March 1957. p. 10.
  8. Whitmore, Greg (23 November 2014). "The 20 best British science fiction films – in pictures". The Guardian.

Further reading
  • The Great British Films, pp 153–155, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-0661-X
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