With starring roles in The Lavender Hill Mob and The Man in the White Suit, 1951 was a fabulous year for Alec Guinness.  In the latter comedy Guinness portrays Sidney Stratton, a guileless inventor who is on the trail of creating a fabric resistant to dirt and damage of any kind.  He wants to create it for the world’s benefit — the only problem is that the world doesn’t want it.

The film’s first half follows Stratton from job to job, as he tries without much success to put his knowledge to use in various laboratories.  When he finally succeeds, the dam breaks loose against him.  Just before the big unveiling of the new miracle fabric, heads of textile mills convince Mr. Brinley (Cecil Parker), Stratton’s backer, that announcing it would be bad business.  The mill’s union workers scream about the loss of jobs and even an old washerwoman on the street tells Stratton he’d be ruining her life.  Stratton goes on the run, trying to give the world his gift, while staying ahead of the mob willing to rip him apart to stop him.

Alexander Mackendrick’s comedy mixes pratfalls and explosions into its smart, satirical perspective.  Stratton’s naivete is smiled upon by everyone, which just makes their insistence on maintaining the status quo more incomprehensible to him.  It’s up to the viewer to decide if Stratton’s invention is a good idea or if it should be suppressed, as the garment leaders desire.

My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  (10:3).