The Man in the White Suit (1951)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Roger MacDougall (play)
Roger MacDougall (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

April 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Drama

Tagline:

Should they let him play...or should they put him away?

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.

Plot Keywords:

Inventor | Factory | Invention | Clothing Industry | Social Commentary

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

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
Stuart Latham	...	Harrison
Miles Malleson	...	The Tailor
Edie Martin	...	Mrs. Watson
Mandy Miller	...	Gladdie
Charlotte Mitchell	...	Mill Girl
Olaf Olsen	...	Knudsen
Desmond Roberts	...	Mannering
Ewan Roberts	...	Fotheringay
John Rudling	...	Wilson
Charles Saynor	...	Pete
Russell Waters	...	Davidson
Brian Worth	...	King
George Benson	...	The Lodger
Frank Atkinson	...	The Baker
Charles Cullum	...	1st Company Director
F.B.J. Sharp	...	2nd Company Director
Scott Harold	...	Express Reporter
Jack Howarth	...	Receptionist At Corland Mill
Jack McNaughton	...	Taxi Driver
Judith Furse	...	Nurse Gamage
Billy Russell	...	Nightwatchman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Boyd	...	Office Boy (uncredited)
Alan Haines	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Arthur Mullard	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Alexander Mackendrick

Writing credits
Roger MacDougall		(play)
Roger MacDougall		(screenplay) &
John Dighton		(screenplay) &
Alexander Mackendrick		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer
Sidney Cole	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel		(music by)

Cinematography by
Douglas Slocombe

Film Editing by
Bernard Gribble

Casting by
Margaret Harper Nelson		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Jim Morahan

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Barbara Barnard	....	hair styles
Harry Frampton	....	make-up
Ernest Taylor	....	make-up
Daphne Martin	....	assistant hairdresser (uncredited)

Production Management
Hal Mason	....	production supervisor
L.C. Rudkin	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Peers	....	assistant director
John Assig	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Terry Bishop	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Jim O'Connolly	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Andrew Low	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Lew Wills	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Arthur Bradburn	....	recordist
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor
Mary Habberfield	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Cyril Swern	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Geoffrey Dickinson	....	special processes

Camera and Electrical Department
Lionel Banes	....	additional photography
Jeff Seaholme	....	camera operator
Jack Dooley	....	stills (uncredited)
Ted Lockhart	....	grip (uncredited)
Bob Penn	....	floor stills (uncredited)
Michael Shepherd	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Hugh Wilson	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Casting Department
Muriel Cole	....	crowd casting (uncredited)
Thelma Graves	....	assistant casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ron Beck	....	wardrobe assistant: men (uncredited)
Edith Crutchley	....	wardrobe assistant: ladies (uncredited)
Ernie Farrer	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)
Lily Payne	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lionel Selwyn	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ernest Irving	....	conductor

Other crew
Felicia Manheim	....	continuity
Geoffrey Myers	....	scientific advisor
Christopher Barry	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ealing Studios

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1951) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Parvisfilmi (1959) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Thorn EMI Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (UK) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Studio Canal (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (video)
• J. Arthur Rank Organisation (????) (USA) (all media) (as The J. Arthur Rank Organisation) (presents)
• M. Nyström (1991) (Finland) (video)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1970) (Finland) (TV)
• New Century Telecommunications (????) (USA) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• YLE Teema (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1965) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Crest National  DVD coding
• Philharmonia Orchestra, The  music played by

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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

Filming Locations:

Brimsdown Station, Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

Alec Guinness performed the stunt of climbing down the side of the mansion. He was convinced by a technician that the piano wire holding him up would not break, since only piano wire with kinks in it would be prone to breaking. As he got to about four feet from the ground, the wire did in fact break.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hill disturbs Michael Corland at the table, he holds a piece of paper. The paper swaps hands between shots.

Quotes:

Daphne Birnley, Alan Birnley's daughter: Thank you Sidney. If you would've said "yes" I could've strangled you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Just a Minute: (#2.2)" (1994)

Witty, Satisfying Satirical Comedy

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.