Classic Movies - Fabulous Films of 1939: Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Today, let’s talk Classic Tearjerker-Goodbye, Mr. Chips! Another of the timeless and Fabulous Films of 1939, MGM’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It lost (mostly to Gone with the Wind) in all but one category. That category was for Best Actor and Robert Donat defeated Clark Gable for the coveted award for his portrayal of the dedicated schoolmaster Charles Chipping, affectionately known as “Mr. Chips”.

With a career that spanned decades, ”Mr. Chips” is an elderly, much-loved, retired Latin teacher and former headmaster of the Brookfield Public School in England. As he reminisces about that career, via flashback, we find that he was not always so loved or popular. Upon his arrival at the boys school in 1870, he got off to a rocky start and, though respected due to his strictness, was not well-liked by his pupils. It was not until he was middle-aged and went on holiday to Austria with his friend and colleague, Max Staefel (Paul Henreid), that Mr. Chipping was reborn. A chance encounter with the lovely, spirited Kathy Ellis (Greer Garson), while mountain climbing, turned the stodgy schoolmaster’s world upside down. Though he was much older than she, they fell in love. In short time they were wed and she became an immediate favorite of his students. “Chips” was also more approachable and mellowed by her love and encouragement. He, too, became a favorite of the boys and the Chipping home was a haven for all.

Unfortunately, the couple’s happiness was short-lived when Kathy died in childbirth along with the baby. “Chips”, though heartbroken, forged on through the years, watching class after class of Brookfield boys come and go. With the coming of World War I, he watched many former pupils go off to war and die there. (Incidentally, child-actor Terry Kilburn portrays four generations of the Colley boys who attend the school and actor John Mills portrays the grown-up Peter Colley II who is tragically killed in the war.)

By the end of the film, a dying “Mr. Chips” awakens briefly and overhears a conversation lamenting the fact that he had never had any children. “Chips” disputes that statement, responding that he has had thousands of children-and all boys! As death overtakes him, boys of all time periods of his career are superimposed on the screen for a final roll call. At the end of the line is Peter Colley III who turns, gently smiles and says, "Goodbye-goodbye, Mr. Chips".

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a lovely, heartwarming film which displays the sacrificial dedication of school teachers to the growth, education, and well-being of their many pupils. We love this movie and recommend you watch it with a box of Kleenex nearby. Don’t miss our next post for another Fabulous Film of 1939! Check out our blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more movie classics.

**Trivia Question for Today: What piece of music do “Mr. Chips” and Kathy fall in love to and what does Max reveal about the song’s subject matter?

Trivia Answer for Previous Post: Mark Twain’s beloved hometown of Hannibal, Missouri was the inspiration for the fictional St. Petersburg, hometown of characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.