The Man in the White Suit

1951 • 85 minutes

About this movie

Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness), a humble inventor, develops a fabric which never gets dirty or wears out. This would seem to be a boon for mankind, but the established garment manufacturers don’t see it that way; they try to suppress it. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures.

Ratings and reviews

Post war British cinematography at its quirky, unassuming best. A young Alec Guinness plays a brilliant and inventive research chemist working anonymously in a grimy North England textile mill. What he invents could change the world but nobody wants it.

A good story about the challenges inventors have. Easily a story that could be retold in today's time.