THE SCIENTIST AS ARTIST - A STUDY OF THE MAN-IN-THE-WHITE-SUIT AND SOME RELATED BRITISH FILM COMEDIES OF THE POSTWAR PERIOD (1945-1970)

The Man in the White Suit is perhaps the major representation of a sci entist in mainstream British films of the postwar period. The him was immensely popular at the time of its release in 1951 and continues to be influential today. This paper, which is part of an ongoing study of the image of scientists presented by the cinema during this period, a nalyzes The Man in the White Suit by comparing it with another film of the period, The Horse's Mouth, which presents an image of an artist, and two related him comedies. Many similarities can be seen between th e characters of the scientists and the artists presented in these film s. The reason for this, and the origin of the artist stereotype in the Romantic period of the early nineteenth century, are discussed. It is concluded that the stereotype of the artist is used as a model for th e scientist because of the lack of familiarity with the nature of scie ntific creativity; artists and scientists may be treated similarly bec ause both are seen as existing outside of the British class system. Th e question of whether the apparent innocence of the scientist in these films is seen as admirable or reprehensible is also discussed.