Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Micransix Crappy film

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Jackson Booth-Millard I had heard about this classic film title because of the leading actor, the title made it obvious what is was about, but I didn't know what the context was. I found out it was from Ealing Studios, famous for Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Lavender Hill Mob, and critics gave it good ratings, so I hoped it would be worthwhile, directed by Alexander Mackendrick (Whisky Galore!, The Ladykillers, Sweet Smell of Success). Basically former Cambridge scholarship recipient and humble inventor and scientist Sidney Stratton (Sir Alec Guinness) has been dismissed from jobs at several textile mills in the north of England. Stratton has demands for expensive facilities and an obsession with inventing an everlasting fibre. Whilst working as a labourer at the Birnley Mill, he accidentally becomes an unpaid researcher and invents an incredibly strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out. From this fabric, a brilliant white suit is made, it cannot absorb dye and is slightly luminous because it includes radioactive elements. Stratton is praised as a genius, but management and the trade unions realise the consequence of his invention, the demand for cloth will decrease and it could put the textile industry out of business. The managers try to trick and bribe Stratton into signing away the rights to his invention, but he refuses, then they and workers try to shut him away, but he escapes. Stratton is pursued by both the managers and the employers, he runs whilst wearing the glowing white suit during the night, but it begins to fall apart as the chemical structure of the fibre breaks down with time. Realising the flaw in the process, the mob triumphantly rip pieces off Stratton's suit, until he is left only wearing his underwear, only the mill-owner's daughter Daphne Birnley (Joan Greenwood) and fellow labourer Bertha (Vida Hope) have sympathy for his disappointment. The next day, Stratton is dismissed from his job, he consults his chemistry notes as he departs, he has a realisation and exclaims "I see!", he strides off, perhaps to try again somewhere else. Also starring Cecil Parker as Alan Birnley, Michael Gough as Michael Corland and Bride of Frankenstein's Ernest Thesiger as Sir John Kierlaw. Guinness is likeable as the quiet, good-natured boffin, this is essentially a story of greed, professional jealousy and fear of progress, I could just about follow everything going on, the white suit stuff is certainly interesting, but I will be honest, I didn't find myself laughing very much, but it is reasonable classic science-fiction satirical comedy. Worth watching, in my opinion!

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.

blanche-2 Sir Alec Guinness is "The Man in the White Suit," a 1951 from from Ealing Studios also starring Joan Greenwood, Michael Gough, Vida Hope, and Cecil Parker.Directed by Alexander Macendrick with a screenplay by Roger MacDougall, the story concerns a determined young chemist named Sidney Stratton who is working on an invention that he feels is world-changing and life-altering. However, it will also make him Public Enemy #1.Sidney finally succeeds - he invents a textile that is dirt/stain proof, waterproof and wear-proof - in other words, it lasts forever. Currently it can only be made in white, and it's a pretty luminous white at that. With the help of Daphne, the daughter (Greenwood) of textile manufacturer Brimley (Parker), he manages to get the boss' attention. His attention, the attention of the press even as textile manufacturers try to suppress it, and the workers, none of whom want a textile that doesn't wear out and is impervious to stains. The idea is to offer him money so that the manufacturers can purchase the formula and suppress it. Poor Sidney doesn't want to understand, won't sign the contract, and runs for his life.The funny thing about this film, without sounding like a conspiracy theorist, is that I believe this type of thing goes on all the time. Nearly forty years ago, to date myself, I worked as a transcriptionist and all I ever transcribed were interviews about alternatives to gas. There must have been dozens. Actually the electric car was one. Those of you who are old enough will remember the big gas shortage in the mid-'70s, when gas stations ran out of gas and the lines to get gas were enormous.So what happened to all those inventions? I think, and I'm not alone, that the oil companies bought the patents and suppressed them because when they're ready for the U.S. to stop its dependence on oil, they want control of the next thing.So this film came as no surprise. It's a satire with an uneasy ring of truth about it, because it makes so much sense - why would clothing manufacturers or workers want clothing that doesn't wear out or stain? Though Brimley doesn't want to impede the march of progress, he finds out soon enough that he has to.This is such a brilliant film, with a wonderful performance by Guinness, so young and with eyes like a deer in headlights, as an idealist and someone who truly wants to do good in the world.Lovely film, another Ealing gem.

secondtake The Man in the White Suit (1951)A dry, wry, hilarious take on the idea that companies don't make their products too good because otherwise they'd never wear out. And you'd never need to buy more.Alec Guinness is the star here, a quirky scientist amidst lots of wonderfully quirky scientists all working on new fabrics and fibers. Guinness a kind of early Peter Sellers, but far more buttoned up. He plays the slightly bumbling everyman who has a gift for genius at the right times, and in this case it's a Cambridge drop out names Sydney Stratton who discovers a superfiber that can be used to make superfabric. The crisis of making clothes that don't wear out, and don't get dirty, never dawns on the scientist, but the workers, and capitalist leaders, and the poor old laundrywoman understand immediately what it means for them.Hence the comedy. It's a "delightful" comedy filled with easygoing laughs and general high spirits, but it really works in its innocence. The not-so-subtle commentary about social economics is part of the fun, and is especially British in its feel, though the ideas of work committees capitalist greed are not foreign to the rest of us. It might be almost odd to notice this, but the filming--the photography and lighting--is especially excellent. It's quite a beautiful black and white film.There are some familiar character actors here for those who have seen other post-War British films, none of whose names I know, though Joan Greenwood, playing the semi-romantic female lead, seems worth paying attention to for her strong presence. Director Alexander Mackendrick has a handful of good films to his credit, and you can only wish he had made more ("The Sweet Smell of Success" is his most famous). This is Guinness's movie, though, and by the final scenes of him running through the dark streets in his glowing white suit, well, that's just terrific old-school comedy, warm and funny and fast.