STUDIOCANAL is pleased to announce the release of a newly restored version of the Ealing classic The Man In the White Suit, starring Alec Guinness (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob).  Directed by the great Alexander Mackendrick (The Ladykillers, Whisky Galore!), this 4K restoration of the classic BAFTA and Oscar nominated comedy will receive its premiere at The Edinburgh International Film Festival. The screening will take place on Tuesday 19 August at 4pm at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. Tickets are available now.
A special 2-disc 4K UHD Collector's Edition featuring a 64-page booklet, an A2 poster of original artwork and a host of extras material will be available to own from 15 September via STUDIOCANAL’s Vintage Classic Label.
 
Ealing Studios’ output from the 1940s and 1950s helped define what was arguably the golden age for British cinema. It fostered great directors such as Alexander Mackendrick and Robert Hamer, while giving stars such as Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers the chance to shine. This new restoration of THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT is a testament to the studio’s exceptional output during that era.
First...Explosions! Then Success! Then Chaos!
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.
Also starring Joan Greenwood (Kind Hearts & Coronets, Whisky Galore!), Cecil Parker (The Ladykillers, I was Monty’s Double) and Michael Gough (Batman, The Small Back Room), the film was BAFTA-nominated for Best Film and Best British Film, and Oscar-nominated for Best Screenplay.  

EXTRAS MATERIAL
  • NEW Matthew Sweet on The Man in The White Suit
  • Extract from BEHP audio interview with Bernard Gribble
  • Revisiting The Man in The White Suit -director Stephen Frears, film historian Ian Christie, and author and British film historian Richard Dacre discuss the unique qualities of The Man in the White Suit as well as the legacy of its director, Alexander Mackendrick
  • Audio Commentary by Film Historian Dr. Dean Brandum
  • T for Teacher (1947) – The Tea Bureau sets out the golden rules for a perfect brew. Animation designed by Peter Sachs, words by Roger MacDougall
  • Behind the Scenes stills gallery
  • Original Trailer
ABOUT THE RESTORATION
The Man in the White Suit was restored in 4K from a second-generation nitrate duplication positive acquired by the BFI in 1955, very likely made from the original negative, which is sadly lost to time. The restoration by Silver Salt involved extensive stabilisation, deflicker, correction of kicks and warps as best as possible and finally extensive manual and semi-automated clean-up to fix scratches and dirt. Reels 1 and 8 especially had scratching to the base of the film that required fixing. The feature was graded in Ultra High Definition in HDR with Dolby Vision. The restoration was managed by Studiocanal’s Jahanzeb Hayat and Mariana Ledesma.


The Man In the White Suit (1951)

1h 25m

Director: Alexander MacKendrick
Cast: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker

UK Release: 4K UHD for the first time, in a new collector’s edition September 15th 2025