The Man in the White Suit: Film Review

The Man in the White Suit is a satire that strikes to the very heart of capitalist greed, with a strong central performance from Alec Guinness.

Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness, of Star Wars), an intellectual oddball chemist, keeps being fired from textile mills for spending too much money and resources trying to create an everlasting fibre. He gets a job as an unpaid researcher at Birnley Mills, which is owned by Alan Birnley (Cecil Parker, of The Ladykillers) and his daughter Daphne Birnley (Joan Greenwood, of Kind Hearts and Coronets).

When Sidney finally succeeds in making the fibre that cannot be broken or dirtied, Birnley’s textile rivals all convene to inform Birnley that if this is mass-produced, it will ruin the textile industry; meanwhile, the workers have also found out about the fabric and begin to strike, worried that their jobs are at stake. With both the rich and the poor after him, Sidney must find a way to save his skin and his fibre.

On a satirical level, The Man in the White Suit is brilliant; it crafts a story that holds a mirror up to society and shows you exactly how the rich and the poor would act. It correctly predicts that the older and more established companies would restrict innovation if it could harm their profits, and also the working class’s willingness to go on strike, which became a huge event in that area of England twenty years later.

Whilst I do believe that the premise is strong, the film doesn’t quite go far enough with the abilities of the fabric. The first act feels a little muddled as it tries to set up the failure that Sidney is, whilst also making Daphne fall for him despite having absolutely no charm or any reason to love him other than the fact that he is very scientifically smart and also rather odd. The second act is brilliant, full to the brim with well-written scenes, including an explosion gag that never gets old. By the time the suit has been made and the third act rolls around, the film trips over itself again, trying to force everyone to be against him, rushing toward an ending that is quite convenient and anticlimactic. It also leaves room for a sequel that sadly never came about.

Visually, it’s outstanding with the gorgeous black and white photography. The white suit is luminescent and stands out on the screen, which is a feat of fantastic costuming and inventive lighting. Alec Guinness is masterful in his ability to play a character so nebbish, whilst also conveying that he has a high level of intellect beneath the surface, waiting to come out.

This was the film that put Alexander Mackendrick on the map, leading him toward his two classic films, The Ladykillers and Sweet Smell of Success. You can see the cinematic tricks he learns here that will be better utilised with a sharper script, but for a breezy ninety-minute satirical-comedy, The Man in the White Suit is a blast.

A new restoration of The Man in the White Suit will be released as a special 2-disc 4K UHD Collector’s Edition on 15 September, 2025, via StudioCanal’s Vintage Classics label.