The Man in the White Suit
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| The Man in the White Suit | |
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 DVD release cover |
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| 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 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Man In The White Suit is a 1951 satirical comedy film made 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 foul of both trade unions and the wealthy mill owners who attempt to suppress his invention.[1] The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay) for Roger MacDougall, John Dighton, and Alexander Mackendrick.
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[edit] 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 to invent 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 realize 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 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.
[edit] 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
- Roddy Hughes as Green
- Stuart Latham as Harrison
- Miles Malleson as The Tailor
- Edie Martin as Mrs. Watson
- Mandy Miller as Gladdie
- Charlotte Mitchell as Mill Girl
- Olaf Olsen as Knudsen
- Desmond Roberts as Mannering
- Ewan Roberts as Fotheringay
- John Rudling as Wilson
- Charles Saynor as Pete
- Russell Waters as Davidson
- Brian Worth as King
- George Benson as The Lodger
- Frank Atkinson as The Baker
- Charles Cullum as 1st Company Director
- F.B.J. Sharp as 2nd Company Director
- Scott Harold as Express Reporter
- Jack Howarth as Receptionist at Corland Mill
- Jack McNaughton as Taxi Driver
- Judith Furse as Nurse Gamage
- Billy Russell as Nightwatchman
[edit] Cultural references
The distinctive soundtrack of the protagonist's laboratory-apparatus has a cameo appearance ( as the cider distiller sounds ) in the 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- The Great British Films, pp 153–155, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 080650661X
[edit] References
- ^ Street, Sarah (2008). British national cinema. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 81. ISBN 0415384222.
[edit] External links
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