The Man in the White Suit 4K 1951

His work clothes are not particularly white—most often, they are overalls made of coarse fabric or a gray, worn-out smock. His job is a handyman at the laboratory, and his calling is molecular chemistry. Meet Sidney Strathern, a long-time loader and garbage collector, and a self-taught scientist on the side. A scholarship to Cambridge did not become his ticket to the world of big science, but can such conventions stop a true researcher on the threshold of a great discovery? Creating a fundamentally new compound that will allow the production of a fabric that has no analogues in the world industry is the goal of his entire life. And this goal justifies the means, because Stratten meekly agrees to any job, just to be closer to the laboratory, where something is always bubbling and gurgling, which means he can quietly attach a clever device of his own invention and, of course, get the chemicals he needs. “Gaggle-blab, gaggle-blab” — that's all you can hear from somewhere in the far corner of the room, the puffing of a strange machine.

Eccentric scientists and oddball researchers have always attracted special attention in cinema. First, of course, from the Inquisition (but more on the Inquisition another time), and then from cinema. The numerous incarnations of Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll, Rotwang from Fritz Lang's immortal symphony about a fantastic city, or Doc Emmett, a character from Zemeckis' famous trilogy — the list goes on and on, because in cinema, the “mad professor” is as established a role as the old butler in the theater. Alec Guinness' character, Strutten, may also seem a little strange, primarily because he seems oblivious to everything around him. He is rumored to be in love with the daughter of Burnley himself, the factory director, while the union activist is convinced that Strutten cannot live without her, but he doesn't care about either of them. He has been expelled from seven factories, but he calmly moves on: if it didn't work out here, it will work out somewhere else. After all, who doesn't know that all great discoveries were made not thanks to, but in spite of.

Color matters here, even though the film is shot in black and white. People in gray suits, people in black suits, and among them Strathern, dressed for his own triumph in a white jacket and white trousers — a simple metaphor that everyone can understand. The familiar and curious question, “What's going on here?” quickly turns into genuine fear, as if Pandora's box had fallen into the hands of an irresponsible hooligan. Stratten's invention is frightening because it is incomprehensible, and instead of glory, the poor man is forced to flee, escaping from influential manufacturers who fear losing money and from ordinary workers who fear losing their jobs.

Director Alexander Mackendrick, despite his rather modest filmography, rightfully belongs among Britain's foremost directors. His best films resemble tiny, carefully crafted miniatures, whose special charm is enhanced by the final touch, the closing phrase, which invariably leaves a bright impression, no matter what troubles or misfortunes pursue the characters. The ironic view of a traditionally conservative society, united in its rejection of any change, is nevertheless distinguished by the director's warm attitude towards his characters. Here, too, no matter how hard the industrialists and trade unions try to get rid of Stratten's ill-fated invention, we can be sure that soon they will hear that strange sound again.