The Man in the White Suit (1951)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Man in the White Suit (1951) – A. Mackendrick

Farcical comedy from Ealing Studios that is also a stinging satire with a bitter aftertaste (if you let it sink in). Alec Guinness plays Sidney Stratton a young scientist who manages to invent (after purloining supplies and the corner of a bench from the research divisions of various textile mills) a fabric that never wears out and never gets dirty (something to do with super-long polymer chains). Initially, he is supported by mill owner Cecil Parker (who sees profits) and his daughter Joan Greenwood (who sees the altruistic possibilities) but as soon as the captains of the textile industry (featuring Ernest Thesiger in a wickedly cynical part) find out, they want to suppress it. After all, a fabric that never wears out would certainly put the mills out of business; for once, the workers’ union joins management in a joint attack against Stratton. Director Alexander Mackendrick keeps things humming along (like the funny chemistry experiment in the film’s first half) but essentially this is a one-joke film and the material does wear a little thin (pun intended) even at a running time of only 85 minutes. Still, it’s delightful (if bitter) and Guinness and the assorted character actors acquit themselves admirably.