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The Man in the White Suit
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The Man in the White Suit (1951) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   2,695 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Roger MacDougall (play)
Roger MacDougall (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Man in the White Suit on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
April 1952 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Sci-Fi | Drama more
Tagline:
Should they let him play...or should they put him away? more
Plot:
An altruistic chemist invents a fabric that resists wear and stain as boon to humanity but both capital and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations more
User Comments:
Witty, Satisfying Satirical Comedy more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Alec Guinness ... Sidney Stratton
Joan Greenwood ... Daphne Birnley
Cecil Parker ... Alan Birnley
Michael Gough ... Michael Corland
Ernest Thesiger ... Sir John Kierlaw
Howard Marion-Crawford ... Cranford (as Howard Marion Crawford)
Henry Mollison ... Hoskins
Vida Hope ... Bertha
Patric Doonan ... Frank
Duncan Lamont ... Harry
Harold Goodwin ... Wilkins
Colin Gordon ... Hill
Joan Harben ... Miss Johnson
Arthur Howard ... Roberts
Roddy Hughes ... Green
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Additional Details

Runtime:
85 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
UK:U | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:S (video rating) (1991) | USA:Approved | Finland:K-8 (1959) | Sweden:15
Company:
Ealing Studios more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The strange noises made by the laboratory apparatus were produced for the sound track by a tuba and a bassoon. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hill disturbs Michael Corland at the table, he holds a piece of paper. The paper swaps hands between shots. more
Quotes:
Sir John Kierlaw: Now. Some fool has invented an indestructible cloth. Where is he? How much does he want? more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Just a Minute: (#2.2)" (1994) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 20 people found the following comment useful:-
Witty, Satisfying Satirical Comedy, 8 November 2004
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

Alec Guinness, an interesting story, and some effective dry humor make this a witty and satisfying satirical comedy. Like a number of the Ealing comedies, the initial plot premise is interesting, yet it is really only a pretext for presenting material that affords some opportunities for subtly caustic commentary. In this case, the far-fetched invention by Guinness's character is used cleverly to point out the ways that various persons feel about science, change, and technology.

Guinness plays an innocent, even naive, character here, which is rather different from most of those he played in other Ealing features. There is a good assortment of supporting characters this time, and some of the minor roles feature some effective performances. Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, and Ernest Thesiger make a good trio of heavies, and Joan Greenwood works well as a character in the middle of things.

The ironic, understated tone of most of the humor keeps things low-key but effective. It's the kind of approach that is far more challenging than direct ridicule, and it takes disciplined film-makers to make something like this work. Not least among the movie's strengths is Guinness's own skill in making his character believable in addition to sympathetic.

While in some ways the comparison may be a stretch, there are some rather interesting parallels between "The Man in the White Suit" and the much more recent "Jurassic Park". The style and characters are much different (though "Jurassic Park" is not entirely without its own moments of dry humor), but in both cases an amazing - and entirely fictional - invention is shown to provoke all kinds of differing reactions, as others seek to exploit it, to close it down, or to control it. In both cases, the point is not whether the invention is valid, but rather the ways that everyone responds while barely understanding or appreciating the actual development itself.

While "The Man in the White Suit" is not one of the best-known Ealing features, it is another good one, with wit, solid characters and story, and an approach that combines style and substance.

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