Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939): A Review

GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS

1939 is often held as the greatest year in film history. This was the year of Ninotchka. This was the year of The Wizard of Oz. This was the year of Stagecoach. This was the year of Love Affair and The Women and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Young Mr. Lincoln. This was also the year of Gone with the Wind, the granddaddy of epic films. In that mix is Goodbye, Mr. Chips. This simple story of a teacher's lifelong commitment to his profession and the woman who loved him will win you over in the end.

The Brookfield School has existed since 1492. Mr. Arthur Chipping (Robert Donat) has not been there that long. He, however, causes something of a small scandal when he is absent for the first day's roll call in 58 years. He does eventually totter in but finds himself locked out of the assembly. This gives him a chance to flash back to his earliest days.

Mr. Chipping is an eager, young Latin teacher. His inexperience shows in his inability to control his new students. He is treated like a substitute, and his response is to crack down hard. It is to where he prevents the star rugby player from taking the field. This makes him disliked by both students and staff. As time goes on, Mr. Chipping finds few friends save for German Max Staefel (Paul Henreid, billed under his original name of Paul von Hernreid). Staefel persuades Chipping to go to Austria on holiday. Here, despite himself, Chipping makes the acquaintance of feisty British suffragette Katherine Ellis (Greer Garson). Contrary to what he might think, Katherine is no damsel in distress.

Despite all logic and reason, Katherine takes a liking to stodgy Mr. Chips. Despite all logic and reason, Mr. Chips takes a liking to our feisty lass. She soon has him wrapped around her finger. To everyone's shock, they marry. Katherine charms Brookfield. She also slowly makes Mr. Chips into a warm fellow, able to crack wise and make Latin puns. The students and administration soon find Mr. Chips a good egg. 

Then, twin tragedies strike. Katherine dies in childbirth. Mr. Chips, while devastated, moves on. Next comes the Great War. He is too old to join and had already retired, having already survived an earlier push to replace him. Due to the number of men going off to war, Mr. Chipping is called out of retirement to become headmaster, fulfilling Katherine's prophesy. He sees the generations that he helped usher die for King and Empire. He also, despite grumblings, honors his friend Staefel when mentioning those who have died in battle despite Staefel fighting for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Time waits for no man. Now, with the end coming at last for the beloved Mr. Chips, we find that he did have children. Hundreds of them, all boys.

I think it will be hard not to be moved by Goodbye, Mr. Chips. We see his evolution from naive teacher to harsh instructor and ultimately to beloved figure. This is a credit to Robert Donat's performance. Donat brings out Chipping's shy manner. His scenes with Greer Garson are the highlight of Goodbye, Mr. Chips. He is at times flummoxed by how straightforward Katherine is. He is also eventually besotted, but in a good way. 

Donat also has a wonderful moment near the end. He reads off the names of those former students and teachers killed on the Western Front. It is a sad reminder of the cost of war. Donat does not make a big moment out of reading Staefel's name. We see in this brief moment the character of the man. Mr. Chipping will remain loyal to his friends regardless of where they ended up.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is also the star vehicle for Greer Garson. She received a Best Actress nomination for her performance as the free-spirited, free-thinking Katherine. She is wonderful in the role. Katherine is the perfect yin to Arthur's yang. The film wisely held back on introducing Katherine. We wait for almost forty minutes before we see her emerge from the mountain mist. As the film goes on, we see how Katherine in turns charms and is charmed by our schoolteacher. She never abuses him but shows Katherine to be fiery but loyal. Garson brings an elegance, a charm and grace to Katherine. She softens Chipping's stiff edges. 

The film also showcases Paul Henreid in his small role of the Austrian teacher and Chips friend. He shows Staefel as a bon vivant who genuinely likes the stiff upper-lipped Brit. Henreid makes Staefel a jolly fellow, forever delighting in people.

An element in Goodbye, Mr. Chips that does wonders is in keeping the same face of youth. Terry Kilburn plays four generations of the same family's Brookfield student. It emphasizes the continuing change of and permanence of time. One generation of the Colley men does grow into adulthood. John Mills is Peter, the young man doomed to die in the trenches. 

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is sweet and sentimental and unafraid to be such. Robert Donat's win might not be well-remembered today. This is especially true when you see whom he defeated in that legendary year of 1939. That being said, whether he should have won is a discussion for another day. After seeing Goodbye, Mr. Chips, one can see how Academy members were as charmed as Katherine was.  After seeing Goodbye, Mr. Chips, I think the viewer too will be charmed. 

DECISION: A+