#john dighton

Roman Holiday [1953]

The Man in the White Suit (1951)

Roman Holiday (1953)

THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT (Dir: Alexander Mackendrick, 1951).

Ealing Studios were on fine form in 1951, producing two classic comedies. The Lavender Hill Mob (Charles Crichton) released in June, was followed two months later by possibly the greatest Ealing comedy of all, The Man in the White Suit.


Set in the textile mills of the north of England, The Man in the White Suit tells of Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness), a research chemist who delivers a new wonder fabric. Indestructible and dirt repellent, the miracle fabric initially has Sidney lauded a genius. However, once the ramifications of such a product become clear, both mill owners and trade unions are keen to suppress Sidney and his invention.


In some repects, The Man in the White Suit in atypical of the Ealing Comedies. It shares with the others the broad theme of the individual vs the Establishment, but here seems to be taking a swipe at trade unions and the common man. In actuality its view of big business and commercialism is just as critical. Yet here, the 'little guy against the system' is a more ambiguous figure than usual. Although Sidney's noble ambition to clothe the world in indestructible fabric is a commendable one, ultimately the price of doing so would come at too great a cost. As his landlady remarks "What's to become of my bit of washing when there's no washing to do?" On the flipside of this is the wealthy mill owners whose greed sees them clamouring for Sidney's invention before attempting to suppress it, initially with bribes, then with more underhanded means. Business and labour eventually side with each other as poor Sidney is chased through the dark streets with his suit glowing luminous white! While the audience sympathy undoubtedly lies with Sidney, we are not too sorry at his inevitable downfall.


Thankfully, social commentary does not get in the way of this being a very funny film. The astute screenplay by John Dighton, Roger MacDougall and Alexander Mackendrick nicely balances the two opposing sides of industry with equal satirical bite. Mackendrick directs at brisk pace, creating a real feeling of suspense in the final moments.


Alec Guinness, arguably the greatest comic actor all time, is excellent here. His childlike optimism offsetting the cynical nature of the film. While Sidney’s blinkered belief in his invention is foolhardy, Guinness never portrays him as foolish, eliciting audience sympathy for a character who could have easily evoked derision. Reunited with Guinness is his Kind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949) leading Joan Greenwood, equally effective here as his chaste love interest.

The Man in the White Suit walks a thin line between cynical satire and offbeat whimsy, but it does so with ease. I would argue it is the greatest of the Ealing comedies and an absolute comedy masterpiece. Highly recommended to anybody with the slightest semblance of a sense of humour.

Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more reviews of classic Ealing Studios movies!

100 Favorite Movies: #27 Kind Hearts and Coronets

Dir: Robert Hamer

Written by: Robert Hamer and John Dighton (Based on the novel by Roy Horniman)

Why It's Good: Oh those saucy Brits and their humor. While not quite the Anglophile as some of my friends are, I find their view of the world, steeped in a rich history and tradition, to allow them a certain wry view of the proceedings stemming from it. I first heard of Kind Hearts and Coronets from a film professor of mine who was discussing the way the story portrays its protagonist. I will not sugar coat it: the main character of the story does some absolutely vile things by movie's end. Yet, for all the terrible things he does, we never lose sympathy for him and much of the reason for this is the identification we have for his hardships. Louis has lived a hard life, made somewhat easier by the toil of his mother, who in turn gave up her own comfort for love of her son. His hardship is further propounded by the source of his misery, the D'Ascoyne family, who denies him his brothright at every turn all because of the sleight of his birth and the ruination of his love life because of his lack of prospects. Set up as a bit of a sadsack, when he finally able to make something of himself we begin to put him contrast to those he works against, with the camera's eye acting as a constant monitor of how he is creating his own achievements. On the thematic level, this brings to mind the division of class at the turn of the century and the rise of new money brought about through hard work and business. While Louis is never quite a business man, we can view his actions against those entrenched in a society that reveres them as we are not likely to be of this class ourselves. Louis is our tool of vengeance against a society that glorifies those who do nothing yet claim to be superior, propounded by the natural lowness of Louis' starting position.

The film begins with Louis Mazzini (Dennis Price), the Duke of Chalfort, sitting in prison writing his memoirs. He tells us the story of his mother (Audrey Philbes) married an Italian opera singer against her family's wishes and was subsequently disowned from the D'Ascoyne family. As Louis gets older, his mother writes to her family in hopes of financial assistance in setting Louis up, but is turned away by Lord D'Ascoyne (Alec Guinness, who plays all the D'Ascoyne family members) and is even denied the right to be buried in the family vault. Louis proposes marriage to his childhood friend Sibella (Joan Greenwood), but is mocked for his low station and forced to attend her marriage to Lionel (John Penrose) whose father is rich. After a scuffle with one of the D'Ascoynes at his work, he is fired and begins his machinations to take them out for the problems in his life. Louis arranges for this D'Ascoyne to die with his lover and a boating accident, and then writes a letter of sympathy to his father, who subsequently hires Louis at his banking firm. Now entrenched in the D'Ascoyne family hierarchy, he begins to seek out each for death, all the while becoming entangled with one of his victims widows, Edith (Valerie Hobson) and engaged in affair with Sibella.

I must say that while Dennis Price plays the lead character, Alec Guinness really steals the show with his portrayal of multiple characters. While we can say now that Alec Guinness is an iconic actor, at the time he was considered largely faceless among his peers, resulting in an amusing anecdote about him stepping on the street dressed as Hitler and no one batting an eye at him. Kind Hearts and Coronets kind of winks at this by having him playing all those different characters, with many of their personalities defined solely by their make-up and carriage. All save one possess a haughty attitude that Guinness can get across in only a few seconds and when we do meet the sympathetic D'Ascoyne, Ascoyne D'Ascoyne, we see the contrast he brings with his fatherly attitude and more feebled body language. Alec Guinness infuses personality here by giving Louis something to play against, a definite set of opposites to himself, all the while with the sense of humor that comes from seeing the actor take on different aspects of a singular familiar body. Also of note, is the way this gives us the audience the consistency in attitude towards the D'Ascoynes as we are given rare opportunities to see them outside of simple identification and doubt why Louis is doing what he is doing.

Kind Hearts and Coronets has proven a difficult movie to describe, but what it represents is a wonderful sense of itself and what it is presenting. It is a story of vengeance seen through the light of humorous staging and intent, making its black comedy feel fresh with each viewing.

Key Scene: Really a series of scenes, at one point the film more or less switches to a montage of the different ways Louis manages his executions of the D'Ascoynes. One of these, featuring Lady D'Ascoyne (still Guinness folks) taking a hot air balloon flight. Louis narrates his attempt as he draws a bow and arrow and proceeds to shoot down the balloon with the satisfying pop one might with a child's balloon rather than a hot air balloon. Aside from the fact that it is just funny to see Obi-Wan Kenobi in drag, I like the briskness of the pacing here, as it doesn't linger on the gritty details and instead concentrates on the focus of Louis in his actions. Louis is a driven man and capable of quick thought in his attempts, so seeing the simplicity of his attack belays just how sharp his mind is and raise the question of why he is narrating from jail.