The Man in the White Suit

England’s Ealing Studios and actor Alec Guinness were linked in such mid-20th century clever and stylish comedies as Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955). Another of these classics is The Man in the White Suit (1951), in which Guinness is superb as Sidney Stratton, an obsessed boyish chemist who invents a revolutionary fabric that resists wear and stains. The film begins on a comic high note, as Sidney—unable to gain employment in a chemical laboratory other than as a low-paid laborer—uses a succession of menial jobs to smuggle his secret experiments in among official corporate research. Befriending Daphne (Joan Greenwood), the daughter of a fabric company’s CEO (Cecil Parker), Sidney and his combustible tests achieve victory at last, drawing corporate attention as his invention promises to be a boon to the world. But there’s a problem: where’s the planned obsolescence? As fabric titans and labor forces get wind of a consumer product that never needs replacement, the film becomes a dark, funny satire about special interests choosing self-interest over progress, with Guinness as a well-meaning disruptor suddenly on the run from those he thought were natural allies. The screenplay by Roger MacDougall is smart, while director Alexander Mackendrick deftly handles the many ironies and farcical turns in the story. Extras include audio commentary by film historian Dr. Dean Brandum, and interviews with filmmaker Stephen Frears and film critic Ian Christie. Recommended. (T. Keogh)