he is left standing in his shirt and underwear. Only Daphne Birnley, the mill-owner's daughter, and Bertha, a works labourer, have sympathy for his disappointment. The next day, Stratton is dismissed from his job. Departing, he consults his chemistry notes. A realisation hits and he exclaims, "I see!" With that he strides off, perhaps to try again elsewhere. Cast Alec Guinness as Sidney Stratton Joan Greenwood as Daphne Birnley Cecil Parker as Alan Birnley Michael Gough as Michael Corland Ernest Thesiger as Sir John Kierlaw Howard Marion-Crawford as Cranford Henry Mollison as Hoskins Vida Hope as Bertha Patric Doonan as Frank Duncan Lamont as Harry Harold Goodwin as Wilkins Colin Gordon as Hill Joan Harben as Miss Johnson Arthur Howard as Roberts Roddy Hughes as Green Stuart Latham as Harrison Miles Malleson as the Tailor Edie Martin as Mrs. Watson Mandy Miller as Gladdie, little girl who sends a message for Stratton Charlotte Mitchell as Mill Girl Olaf Olsen as Knudsen Desmond Roberts as Mannering Ewan Roberts as Fotheringay John Rudling as Wilson Charles Saynor as Pete Russell Waters as Davidson Brian Worth as King George Benson as the Lodger Frank Atkinson as the Baker Charles Cullum as 1st Company Director F.B.J. Sharp as 2nd Company Director Scott Harold as Express Reporter Jack Howarth as Receptionist at Corland Mill Jack McNaughton as Taxi Driver Judith Furse as Nurse Gamage Billy Russell as Nightwatchman Sound The gurgling musical theme, "Guggle Glub Gurgle", that plays when Sidney Stratton’s apparatus is bubbling or when he is thinking about his invention is not made by musical instruments, but by laboratory equipment. Reception The film opened at the Odeon Marble Arch cinema in London on 10 August 1951, and was one of the most popular films of the year in Britain. It earned rentals of $460,000 in the United States and Canada. (This figure was also given as $500,000.) The British Film Institute named it the 58th greatest British film of all time. In 2014 The Guardian included it as one of the twenty best British science fiction films. Stage adaptation A stage play based on the film directed by Sean Foley and starring Stephen Mangan and Kara Tointon opened at the Theatre Royal, Bath in September 2019 before transferring to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. References Further reading The Great British Films, pp. 153–155, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, External links 1951