The Man in the White Suit (1951) is part of The Ealing Comedies, a group of some of the most beloved British films, a series which also includes Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955). The Ealing films longevity might seem surprising as they show a way of life so different from now, but when you have a well-directed film with a pitch-perfect script and actors of the calibre of Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker you get a classic that is endlessly watchable and still brings laughter after 74 years.
The film centres on Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness), a disgraced inventor (we never learn why) holding a lowly position in the textile mill who is snaffling materials to conduct his own (often explosive) experiments to develop a fabric which never gets dirty or wears out. After a chance meeting with the boss’s daughter (Joan Greenwood) she persuades her father, mill owner Alan Birnley (Cecil Parker), to bankroll his research in a fabulous performance that encompasses incredulity, indignance and reluctant capitulation. Rather than this miracle fibre leading to utopian future, things soon turn to mayhem as other mill owners and mill workers begin to realise that their livelihoods are in jeopardy.
Anyone only familiar with Alec Guinness as aging spook George Smiley (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 2011) or Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars, 1977) will see the versatile actor in his youth, as he plays a character who is full of innocent glee at his inventions. He is at times no more than a child playing with his first chemistry until he becomes increasingly drawn in by the lure of capitalism and the machinations of the other mill owners led by Sir John Kierlaw played Ernest Thesiger in what could be argued is a proto-Emperor Palpatine; an ageing figure engulfed in his enormous fur-collared Astrakhan coat.
It is also notable that the two main female characters, mill owner’s daughter Daphne Birnley (Joan Greenwood) and mill worker Bertha (Vida Hope), both have agency. Daphne reads up on the chemistry behind Sidney’s idea and delivers a wonderful tirade to her bumbling father, “you’ve made an idiot of yourself father, and I’m pleased to say you’re going to regret it…do you know what a long chain molecule is? Do you know what happens if you make one of infinite length with optimum interchain attractions?” and Bertha, who is a militant trade unionist with a soft spot for Sidney, with wonderful lines like, “Tea break! We had to fight for it”.
The film has a lean 75-minute running time which is divided neatly into three acts. Act one is Sidney, unnoticed as one of the many worker ants in the mill, working on his invention under the noses of the other scientists until the musical glugs and gulps of his equipment are spotted during another mill owners visit. This leads to one of the film’s best scenes as wave after wave of scientists are called in to explain what it is. Act two is the successful invention of the material leading to the suit being made and the dawning realisation that this could be disastrous for the captains of industry and workers alike. Act three I will leave unsaid for all those people who are going to enjoy this for the first time.
The film has a rich vein of slapstick running through it while the characters may be broad caricatures there isn’t a weak performance from anyone. If this is your first experience of Ealing Comedies then I envy you the chance to watch the rest, especially Alec Guinness playing six characters in Kind Hearts and Coronets (Joan Greenwood is spectacular as Sibella), the joyously ridiculous Passport to Pimlico, Whisky Galore, and The Ladykillers which also stars Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers and Frankie Howerd.
Here comes the science bit: the film was ‘restored in 4K from a second-generation nitrate duplication positive acquired by the BFI in 1955, very likely made from the original negative, which is sadly lost to time. The restoration by Silver Salt involved extensive stabilisation, deflicker, correction of kicks and warps as best as possible and finally extensive manual and semi-automated clean-up to fix scratches and dirt.’ It looks every bit as pristine as the white suit itself, and the lack of flaws allows you to sit back, distraction-free, and enjoy the film as it would have been seen in the cinema.
This 4K restoration comes with a whole range of extras including an audio commentary by Film Historian Dr. Dean Brandum, extracts of a BEHP audio interview with the film’s editor Bernard Gribble, and an excellent analysis of the film by Matthew Sweet who talks about the film being “a laboratory for testing the dissatisfaction of the nation” and “a satire and a warning about science” as well as being bright and shiny in a grey post-war world. There is also a booklet and an A2 copy of the original film poster.
This is released as part of Studiocanal’s Vintage Classic series.
Review by Paul F Cook
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