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List Price: $19.97Amazon.com's Price: $17.99 You Save: $1.98 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0013131147698
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Region Code: 1
Release Date: September 10, 2002
Running Time: 85 minutes
Sales Rank: 28948
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: 1952-04
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Ealing comedy--cozy, gentle, and whimsical, right? In this case, think again. Alexander Mackendrick was always the most politically aware of the Ealing directors, and in The Man in the White Suit (1952) he takes the studio's favorite theme of the little man up against the system and gives it a sharp satirical twist. Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness at his most unworldly), a maverick scientist working in a textile mill, invents a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. He's hailed as a genius--until management and unions alike realize what his brainwave implies. Mackendrick's humor is exact and pointed, and the satire turns savage as a lynch mob of bosses and workers hunt Sidney down through dark, narrow streets. Mackendrick's disenchanted view of class-ridden British society still rings horribly true, and he draws note-perfect performances from the cream of British character actors: Cecil Parker as the liberal mill owner (based, it's said, on Ealing boss Michael Balcon); Ernest Thesiger as the evil old godfather of the industry; and, wittily sensual as Sidney's confidante, the ever-wonderful Joan Greenwood. Plus, listen out for the 'voice' of Sidney's bizarre apparatus, the funniest and most unforgettable sound effect ever devised. --Philip Kemp
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Satire on Industrial Production
The film opens on an English textile mill that is up for sale. It uses man-made fibers. A device attracts attention by management. Who authorized it? At what cost? A graduate from Cambridge was experimenting and discovered what the result was. The scenes show life in the 1940s. The monetary figures date this story. One firm bought an electronic microscope and needs Mr. Stratton's help. [No employee badges then.] There is a romance between Daphne Birnley, the millionaire mill owner's daughter, and ... Read More
Rating:  - What if "saving the environment" meant losing your job?
Civilization should thrive on progress! But when a scientist in a textile mill produces a white suit made from a fabric that will never wear out and never get dirty, society is suddenly not so sure that one particular progress is of benefit. Actually, it's more of a threat to both labor and management.
What is most interesting about The Man in the White Suit is that characters on both sides of this story are all "sympathetic" and make a good, understandable case for their situation. ... Read More
Rating: - Another Brilliant Ealing Satire
The Man in the White Suit seems to me to be partially a satire on Ayn Rand's the Fountainhead. Alec Guinness plays Sidney Stratton deadpan in the role of the lone, mad scientist of the British clothing industry. Stratton is on a mission to create a new fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. His bizarre quest gets him fired from one after another jobs as a scientist as he diverts (or as the British would say, cadges) equipment and supplies from companies to his projects. He then works as a ... Read More
Rating: - Fairly Entertaining Ealing Offering
This film will not be to everyone's taste despite an excellent performance from Alec Guinness as the eccentric young scientist Sidney Stratton who invents a material that puts the whole British fabric and laundry business into jeopardy. There is a strong management vs. workers message here (although not to the extent of "I'm All Right Jack"). The industrial "closing of ranks when threatened" works well, but the film suffers from a rather contrived ending which leaves the viewer rather frustrated (we want ... Read More
Rating: - Movie Buff
A clever premise for a comedy but paced much too slow. You might need someone to wake you up to find out how it ends.
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