History Film / TheManInTheWhiteSuit

-->'''Landlady:''' Why can't you scientists leave things alone? What about my bit of washing when there's no washing to do.

* ClothingDamage: Averted. Sidney's suit is impeccable, resistant to wear and tear. Therein lies the problem for industry and consumerism.
** This ends up [[spoiler: being a subversion, as his revolutionary fibre starts to self-destruct and breakdown after a period of time.]]

''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Creator/EalingStudios comedy film. Though not always seen as such, it is also a work of {{science fiction}}; it revolves around a scientific invention, with many of its consequences logically assessed.

Creator/AlecGuinness stars as Sidney Stratton, an industrial chemist who believes he is on the path to creating a new synthetic fibre that never wears out and cannot be damaged, dirtied or stained. When at last he succeeds, he finds himself on the run (wearing a demonstration suit made from the new fabric), pursued by the vested interests who want Sidney's invention suppressed due to the effect it will have on the existing industry.

Creator/AlecGuinness stars as Sidney Stratton, an industrial chemist who believes he is on the path to creating a new synthetic fibre that never wears out and cannot be damaged, dirtied or stained. When at last he succeeds, he finds himself on the run (wearing a demonstration suit made from the new fabric), pursued by the vested interests who want Stratton's invention suppressed due to the effect it will have on the existing industry.

[[quoteright:183:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_man_in_the_white_suit.jpg]]
''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Creator/EalingStudios comedy film. Though not always seen as such, it's a work of science fiction; it revolves around a scientific invention, with many of its consequences logically assessed.

Creator/AlecGuinness stars as Sidney Stratton, an industrial chemist who believes he is on the path to creating a new synthetic fibre that never wears out and cannot be damaged, dirtied or stained. When at last he succeeds, he finds himself on the run (in a demonstration suit made from the new fabric) from the vested interests who want it suppressed because of the effect it will have on the existing industry.

* ScreenToStageAdaptation: A West End play with music appeared on the West End featuring Stephen Mangan as Sidney.

* ManInWhite: Sidney, once he dons the new suit. On the literal level, it's white because it repels all dirt and stains; symbolically it represents Sidney's moral innocence in a world of division, corruption and compromise. (Daphne remarks that it makes him look like a modern-day knight in shining armour.)

''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Creator/EalingStudios comedy film. Though not always seen as such, it's a work of science fiction: revolving around a scientific invention, with many of its consequences logically assessed.

* PetTheDog: The angry mob rejoice when Sidney's miracle suit is no more, and he's left with nothing. [[HeelRealization They than realize he only wanted to make the world a better place]], and immediately dress him in a good old fashioned suit.

* ClothingDamage: Averted. Sidney's suit is impeccable and resistant to wear and tear. Therein lies the problem for industry and consumerism.

''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Creator/EalingStudios comedy film -- and, in fact, a minor science fiction classic (it's about a scientific invention, with many of its consequences logically assessed) that isn't always seen as SF.

''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Creator/EalingStudios comedy film.

* JobTitle

* PersonWithTheClothing
* SharpenedToASingleAtom: It's not emphasised, but it's mentioned in passing in the dialogue about the development of the new material that the threads are, in effect, molecular monofilaments -- causing problems in handling and cutting them. It evidently doesn't occur to any of the characters that this could have other applications. This may be one of the earliest occurrences of the concept in fiction.

''The Man in the White Suit'' is a 1951 Ealing Comedy film.

Alec Guinness stars as Sidney Stratton, an industrial chemist who believes he is on the path to creating a new synthetic fibre that never wears out and cannot be damaged, dirtied or stained. When at last he succeeds, he finds himself on the run (in a demonstration suit made from the new fabric) from the vested interests who want it suppressed because of the effect it will have on the existing industry.