Directed by:
Alexander MackendrickCinematography:
Douglas SlocombeComposer:
Benjamin FrankelCast:
Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Howard Marion-Crawford, Henry Mollison, Charlotte Mitchell, Duncan Lamont (more)Plots(1)
Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) works quietly at Michael Corland's (Michael Gough) textile mill until his mysterious, costly lab experiment is discovered. Fired by Corland, Stratton takes a menial job at Alan Birnley's (Cecil Parker) mill in order to continue his work on the sly. When Daphne (Joan Greenwood), Corland's fiancée and Birnley's daughter, discovers his secret, she threatens to expose Stratton. The desperate scientist reveals to Daphne that he has invented an indestructible cloth that never gets dirty. Close to realizing his vision, Stratton celebrates by having a white suit made of the fabric (because it repels dye). The trouble, however, is just beginning. The lowly mill workers (who spout market economics in rough accents) fear for their jobs while the mill owners, led by the decrepit Godfather-esque Sir John Kierlaw (Ernest Thesiger), worry about their profits. In a series of entertaining chase scenes and attempted double crosses, the impish yet determined Stratton (sporting his luminous suit) struggles to defend his hard-won discovery from the mob. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Alec Guinness
UK
Best movies:
Joan Greenwood
UK
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Father Brown (1954)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
Cecil Parker
Best movies:
Father Brown (1954)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
The Citadel (1938)
Michael Gough
Malaysia
Best movies:
Corpse Bride (2005)
Out of Africa (1985)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ernest Thesiger
UK
Best movies:
Father Brown (1954)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Million Pound Note (1954)
Howard Marion-Crawford
UK
Best movies:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Longest Day (1962)
The Silent Enemy (1958)
Henry Mollison
UK
Best movies:
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Whisky Galore! (1949)
Charlotte Mitchell
UK
Best movies:
Laughter in Paradise (1951)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Village of the Damned (1960)
Duncan Lamont
Portugal
Best movies:
Battle of Britain (1969)
Murder at the Gallop (1963)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Harold Goodwin
UK
Best movies:
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Longest Day (1962)
The Dam Busters (1955)
Colin Gordon
Best movies:
Mandy (1952)
The One That Got Away (1957)
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
Arthur Howard
UK
Best movies:
The Great Manhunt (1950)
Footsteps in the Fog (1955)
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Roddy Hughes
UK
Best movies:
A Christmas Carol (1951)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
In Which We Serve (1942)
Edie Martin
UK
Best movies:
Oliver Twist (1948)
Great Expectations (1946)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Ewan Roberts
UK
Best movies:
The Internecine Project (1974)
The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Judith Furse
UK
Best movies:
The Browning Version (1951)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
Black Narcissus (1947)
Mandy Miller
UK
Best movies:
Mandy (1952)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
The Snorkel (1958)
Miles Malleson
UK
Best movies:
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Jack Howarth
UK
Best movies:
Hobson's Choice (1954)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Spring and Port Wine (1970)
Charles Saynor
UK
Best movies:
An Inspector Calls (1954)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Look Back in Anger (1958)