oOoBarracuda It's settled, I need to see everything Alec Guinness has ever done. It pains me that I have been ignorant of Alec Guinness for 27 years of my life. I will surely be making up for that because he truly steals every scene he is in. The Man in the White Suit shows Guinness as an inventor who has dedicated himself to inventing something that will help mankind. Guinness starred in The Man in the White Suit with Joan Greenwood in Alexander Mackendrick's 1951 feature. Billed as both a drama and a comedy, The Man in the White Suit has several funny moments while also taking a hard look at the economic system and who it holds captive, both those within the system and enslaved by it.Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) has a hard time keeping a job. He is an inventor who is much more concerned with his own scientific pursuits than those of his employers. The meek, humble inventor truly wants to create something good for everyone. After much experimentation, Sidney develops a cloth that will not ever wear out or get dirty. Seeing this as a great thing, thinking about the impoverished people living around him, and how much they would benefit from such a fabric. In developing his fabric, however, Sidney may have created an economic catastrophe. The money generated from his invention would be a one-time gain. After the public initially bought this fabric, they would never have to buy anymore again. This would spell disaster for the textile industry who would all but be put out of business. Clothing repair businesses would be out of work as well once everyone owned a fabric that never needed to be mended. Sidney remains steadfast in his pursuit to distribute this fabric, which soon puts him head to head with factory owners all around him who will stop at nothing to stop him and his invention. Alec Guinness's incredible characterization of Sidney Stratton is definitely what audiences will most remember about The Man in the White Suit. Guinness steals every scene he is in, even if he doesn't speak. Alec Guinness is truly a national treasure, a phenomenal acting talent that should be viewed as much as possible. The production design goes a long way in aiding to Guinness's excellent portrayal. Each set played with space and lines in an incredible way. The early factory scenes showed Guinness cramped in workspaces, illustrating how poorly he fit into the current system around him. I was stricken by how beautifully shot the film was, considering it is billed as a comedy. Comedies really don't get the credit they deserve as an artform within cinema. Most comedies of today can convince anyone that there is nothing much of merit about them, but certainly, the comedies of the golden age gave audiences much more to take home after the film was over. Guinness was hilarious in this film with his nervous facial expressions and timid actions, what is incredible is that that same character is responsible for also exploring how the economy is holding back innovation. The Man in the White Suit does an excellent job of being lighthearted when necessary but also being a heavy-hitting examination of the perils of innovation and who suffers unintended consequences of well- meaning inventions. Such an important investigation of the battle between man and company, The Man in the White Suit is a must-see.

l_rawjalaurence Produced at the time of the Festival of Britain, a period when Britain was trying to show itself in its most positive light, THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT offers a gentle, if pointed corrective. Sidney Stratton's (Alec Guinness') wonderful invention of a suit that never needs washing, and never wears out, threatens the entire future of the British cotton industry and needs to be suppressed. For perhaps the first - and only time - the mill-owners, led by Cecil Parker's Mr. Birnley and Ernest Thesiger's hawk-like Sir John, unite with the workers to frustrate Stratton's plans of success and hence ensure that "the delicate balance of interests" (i.e. the industrial status quo) is maintained. The fact that the cotton industry no longer really exists in Britain is one of the ironies of history; it was chiefly due to an ostrich-like reluctance to change that Britain was overtaken by other countries in Asia. As Parker's narrator accurately foretells right at the end of the film, the Sidney Strattons of this world did achieve what they wanted in the end. Alexander Mackendrick's film is tightly structured with some memorable cinematography by Douglas Slocombe; there are at least two aerial shots of the mill-owners and Sir John gathered in one room, where they resemble predatory beasts ganging up on the luckless Sidney. The chase- sequences are also cleverly handled, with several shots of Sidney's pursuers running down corridors or darkened alleyways. Benjamin Frankel's music, with its memorable theme of the bubbling of Sidney's scientific experiments, reminds us of just how successful and threatening human endeavors can be. Mackendrick also gets some memorable character-vignettes out of Parker - never better in his customary role as a bumbling yet pompous industrialist, Thesiger (screaming "wait for me!" as he relishes the prospect of chasing Sidney, and is bundled into a worker's car), and Joan Greenwood, reprising her role as an incredibly polite yet potent predator from KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949). In the central role, Guinness is remarkably active; his obsessiveness manifesting itself in his increasingly unkempt appearance, that contrasts with his appearance at the end, when the suit has been torn off him. In his undershirt and pants, he resembles a dying swan. THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT is, as with all Ealing comedies, a small-scale film, but one that befits repeated viewings in order to understand its quiet subtleties. A classic.

pruthvishrathod This film is a piece of sheer comical brilliance. Not just comedy I loved but the message it delivers is also magnificent. Through its comical nature somehow it conveys the similar thing which Ayn Rand did in her novels. About Guinness, I just cannot get enough of him. Every time I watch him I tend praise him more than the previous time. Here too he brilliantly plays the role of a genius inventor living in silence. His latest invention is going to shake the whole world. But he is not allowed to do his experiments properly. Even after he is succeeded, the industrialists and other classes oppose to enclose his invention. Film's first half is full of funny scenes but in second half it simply nails the point. It creates a brilliant satire of whole Industrial order. Final portion of the movie in which, Alec Guinness almost run like a fugitive is too brilliant. This is one of the best film of Ealing comedy era. It is too realistic & convincing and yet hilariously funny. Ending really shook me up. Joan Greenwood looked stunning. Her character was honest & full of grace. Cecil Parker & other guys were also very funny. But Alec Guinness deserves the highest respect for this. Must watch comedy..

jc-osms Absolutely sparkling Ealing comedy effortlessly weaving (no pun intended) some apposite social comment into the entertainment. The example of the material that never gets dirty could be applied to an sought-after social remedy and makes you wonder for example, Big Pharma would tell us if a cheap cure for cancer was found or if the oil multi-nationals found a cheap alternative to oil. Of course they would, or would they, but the superb twist here is that the trade unions turn on Guinness's Sydney Stratton character too, making the telling point that no-one is above putting their personal self interests above the greater good. With dialogue sharper than the cut of Alec Guinness's suit and wonderful acting from every actor, right down to the little girl whom he befriends, it's an absolute treat to watch, with a wonderful bitter-sweet conclusion that couldn't be bettered in terms of apt-ness and pithiness, it's almost as if the literally unravelling of Stratton's idealistic dream breaks the spell which has turned his pursuers, a motley crew of management and workers into a baying mob. Yes, one or two of the characters are perhaps over-exaggerated, like the textile magnate Sir John or the self-serving shop steward, but this is satire after all and I guess it's their blackness which all the more points up Stratton's unblemished idealism. Guinness is marvellous as the impish boffin who won't be bought off and Alexander McKendrick's direction is beautifully paced, expertly mixing humour with narrative flair. With its timeless dissection of human motives it could hardly be bettered and shows the Ealing Comedies as the natural heir with its mix of commentary and comedy to Hollywood's Frank Capra.