The Man in the White Suit (1952)

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 Amazon.com

A Satire on Industrial Production

The film opens on an English textile mill that is up for sale. It uses man-made fibers. A device attracts attention by management. Who authorized it? At what cost? A graduate from Cambridge was experimenting and discovered what the result was. The scenes show life in the 1940s. The monetary figures date this story. One firm bought an electronic microscope and needs Mr. Stratton's help. [No employee badges then.] There is a romance between Daphne Birnley, the millionaire mill owner's daughter, and the owner of that small mill. Stratton has an idea for the polymerization of molecules to develop a long chain that will revolutionize the textile industry. Will it have unintended consequences? Sidney Stratton goes to see Mr. Birnley. There is comedy in the interaction of people who don't understand each other. But the mill owner wants to beat the competition.

What if they could produce a fiber that lasted forever and repelled dirt? How would it benefit mankind? But would people get tired of the same old thing? Evil Sir John complains about this new cloth. The mill owners and the workers have their doubts. The mill owners will use force and violence to get what they want; science be damned. News of this everlasting thread causes stocks to fall. Will a rich man pimp his daughter to do business? Do they let morals stand in the way of profits? Does human nature upset the best-laid plans? Can labor and management unite to protect their interests? [What about the customer's needs and wants?] There is a comic chase that echoes the horror movies where the people chase the monster that threatened their well-being. Can scientists just leave things alone? There is a happy ending when things don't work as expected. July 22, 2008

What if "saving the environment" meant losing your job?

Civilization should thrive on progress! But when a scientist in a textile mill produces a white suit made from a fabric that will never wear out and never get dirty, society is suddenly not so sure that one particular progress is of benefit. Actually, it's more of a threat to both labor and management.

What is most interesting about The Man in the White Suit is that characters on both sides of this story are all "sympathetic" and make a good, understandable case for their situation. Who does suffer here is the class system that would deny a general benefit in order to maintain the system, itself. It's that selfishness that looks the most ridiculous here.

Despite the fact that this is a British film, skewering that well-defined class system, all this satire is equally applicable to any group. We claim to want to "save the environment," but what would happen if someone invented, today, a car that ran on tap water? The status quo would be challenged, jobs would be lost -- maybe even yours. How would you feel about saving the environment then?

Ultimately, we all have to come to decisions about such progress, as does the audience of The Man in the White Suit.

Highly recommended! July 13, 2008

Another Brilliant Ealing Satire

The Man in the White Suit seems to me to be partially a satire on Ayn Rand's the Fountainhead. Alec Guinness plays Sidney Stratton deadpan in the role of the lone, mad scientist of the British clothing industry. Stratton is on a mission to create a new fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. His bizarre quest gets him fired from one after another jobs as a scientist as he diverts (or as the British would say, cadges) equipment and supplies from companies to his projects. He then works as a janitor still cadging supplies and hiding his experiments until he is discovered and promoted by the daughter (Joan Greenwood) of one of the captains of industry.

After he is promoted, he is given full support for his bizarre idea. Then, another of the elements of satire is the mad scientist of the horror films of the late 40's, with suitable lights flashing, "boops....beeps" and water gurgling sound effects, and a few explosions of the works.

This leads to curiosity...what is he up to? Then, word leaks out that he is working on a cloth that never gets dirty and never wears out. At first it sounds like a good idea but soon the Schumpeterian creative destruction implications of this invention for jobs, businesses, and industries, becomes clear to the industry leaders, the unions, and the ordinary workers. Then, another object of satire in this movie proceeds as all the groups go to battle against each other and then eventually against this man and his invention.

Then the movie goes into a chase scene with Guinness wearing this incredibly luminous white suit..... but you'll have to watch the movie to find out how it ends. March 22, 2008

Fairly Entertaining Ealing Offering

This film will not be to everyone's taste despite an excellent performance from Alec Guinness as the eccentric young scientist Sidney Stratton who invents a material that puts the whole British fabric and laundry business into jeopardy. There is a strong management vs. workers message here (although not to the extent of "I'm All Right Jack"). The industrial "closing of ranks when threatened" works well, but the film suffers from a rather contrived ending which leaves the viewer rather frustrated (we want Sidney to succeed, despite the consequences!). The white suit also looks rather odd in the greyness of Britain in the 1950's (but maybe that was the point). Although there are some funny and entertaining moments, this is a second-rank Ealing offering. September 22, 2007

Movie Buff

A clever premise for a comedy but paced much too slow. You might need someone to wake you up to find out how it ends. July 19, 2007

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