Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)

Infobox Film
name = Goodbye, Mr. Chips


caption = Original film poster
director = Sam Wood
producer = Victor Saville
writer = R.C. Sherriff
Claudine West
Eric Maschwitz
James Hilton (novel)
starring = Robert Donat
Greer Garson
Terry Kilburn
Paul Henreid
John Mills
music = Richard Addinsell
cinematography = Freddie Young
editing = Charles Frend
distributor = MGM
released = May 15 1939
runtime = 114 minutes
country = UK
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:20346
imdb_id = 0031385

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1939) is a British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric Maschwitz.

The film was voted the 72nd greatest British film ever in the BFI Top 100 British films poll.

Plot

In 1933, Mr. Chipping (Robert Donat), a retired schoolteacher well into his eighties, is kept home by a cold. He is disturbed by a new boy, who is being pranked by older students; realising what has happened to the boy, he invites him in and asks if he is a new boy and then tell him he once was new as well and relates his 58-year career (relayed in flashback).

When 22-year-old Charles Edward Chipping first arrives as a Latin teacher to Brookfield Public School in 1870, he becomes a target of many rambunctious practical jokes. He reacts by imposing strict discipline in his classroom, making him respected, but disliked. His unpopularity and stiffness cost him a promotion in 1888.

Realising he is not good at his profession, he glumly ponders his future. However, the German teacher, Max Staefel (Paul Henreid), saves him from despair by taking him on holiday to his native Austria. While mountain climbing, Chipping "rescues" Kathy Ellis (Greer Garson) (even though she did not actually need to be saved). Kathy is a feisty English suffragette on a cycling holiday. They meet again in Vienna and dance to the Blue Danube Waltz. This piece of music is used as a "leitmotif", symbolising Chipping's love for her. Even though she is considerably younger and livelier than he, she loves and marries him. They return to England, where Kathy takes up residence at the school, conquering everyone with her personal warmth.

During their tragically short marriage (she dies in childbirth, along with their baby), she brings 'Mr. Chips' out of his shell and shows him how to be a better teacher. He acquires a flair for Latin puns. As the years pass, Chips becomes a much-beloved school institution, developing a rapport with generations of students; he teaches the sons and grandsons of many of his earlier pupils.

Under some pressure from a more "modern" headmaster, Chips retires in 1914 at age 65, but is summoned back to serve as interim headmaster, because of the shortage of teachers resulting from World War I. During a bombing attack by a German zeppelin, Chips insists that the boys keep on construing their Latin--choosing the story of Julius Caesar's battles against Germanic tribes, which describes the latter's belligerent nature, much to the amusement of his students. As the Great War drags on, Chips reads aloud into the school's Roll of Honour every Sunday the names of the many former students and teachers who have died in battle. Upon finding out that Max has died fighting on the German side, Chips, symbolising the decency being consumed by the slaughter, reads his name out in chapel.

He retires permanently in 1918, and as the flashback returns to 1933, he is on his deathbed when he overhears his friends talking about him. He responds, "I thought you said it was a pity... pity I never had children. But you're wrong, I have. Thousands of them ... thousands of them ... and all boys."

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards for Best Picture, Direction, Actor, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, and Sound. It was up against "Gone with the Wind" in all seven categories; Robert Donat won for Best Actor, beating out Clark Gable, but "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" lost to "Gone With the Wind" in five of the six remaining categories. (Best Sound went to the otherwise undistinguished "When Tomorrow Comes").

Cast

*Robert Donat as Mr. Chips. The 34-year-old Donat ages 63 years (1870-1933) over the course of the film. He remarked: "As soon as I put the moustache on, I felt the part, even if I did look like a great airedale come out of a puddle."
*Greer Garson as Katherine. Garson was initially offered a contract for MGM in 1937, but refused all the minor parts she was offered until she was given this role.
*Lyn Harding as Wetherby, headmaster of Brookfield when Chips first arrives
*Paul Henreid as Max Staeffel, the German master
*Terry Kilburn as John Colley, Peter Colley I, II and III, several generations of students from the same family taught by Mr. Chips
*John Mills as Peter Colley as an adult
*Scott Sunderland as Sir John Colley

Production

The film was shot at Winchester College and Denham Film Studios.

External links

*imdb title|id=0031385|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips
*tcmdb title|id=76737|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips