Serious Science, Silly Story

 The Man in The White Suit (1951) – An idealistic young chemist develops a new kind of cloth.  One that resists dirt and never wears out.  He sees it as the solution to a worldwide problem.  The cloth manufacturers and their union employees see a disaster looming.  One they will do everything in their power to stop.

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick

Starring – Alec Guinness,

Why I Liked It – The story balances neatly between the social issues raised by a new technology and good old fashioned fun.

Sir Alec Guinness in a science fiction movie!  Well, sort of, and only kind of.  The legendary actor wouldn’t be able to add the “Sir” before his name for another seven years.  And while there is a solid science basis for the story, the story is closer to the Disney classic “Flubber” than “Star Wars”.  Eight-year-old George Lucas might have seen this movie in the day.  In the end, the movie is a lot of fun.

The story centers on the shy, but brilliant Sidney Stratton, who has an idea about creating a new fiber.  Following World War II, there was a worldwide revolution in cloth, with new wonder fabrics, like nylon.  Sidney wants to combine the best of both natural fibers with artificial ones.  After a series of challenges, he succeeds.  It’s amazing stuff.  Even to the point of glowing in the dark while it’s still new.  It doesn’t take long for folks to figure out that if everyone has clothes that never wear out, they won’t need to buy any new clothes!  Things turn south for Sidney at that point.

The all English cast has fun playing with the social changes and challenges of post-war England.  You stop for tea at tea time because by God, the union fought for it!  There’s not a lot of actors beyond Guinness that most American audiences will know.  Michael Gough plays one of the fabric plant owners, and also played Alfred in several ‘80s and ‘90s Batman movies.  Recognizable or not, the cast knows its way around the story and the comedy in it.  

There is some social commentary here about life in post-war England, a lot of silly fun with just a dash of science to hold it all together.  Nothing profound or intense.  You’ll enjoy the time you spend with this one.

Rating – *** Worth A Look