User reviews

Here's another one of those old-fashioned movies in which people are all nice: no villains. It's a refreshing change of pace, once in a while, at least for me.

Sometimes it's relaxing just to just kick back with a story that just makes you feel good, doesn't upset you at any time. There are some touching scenes with some sadness in here, too, however, but the sincere story and great acting make you glad you watched it.

Robert Donat, as Mr. Chippings, is a pleasure to watch, particularly when he plays the character in his declining years. Greer Garson gets equal if not top billing, but that's not right. Her role is not that big in this picture.

Another nice feature you don't see much, at least in post-1960 films - all respectful kids in here, with manners. Nice adults, nice kids, nice story - probably too corny for most people of today in our cynical world. Too bad. Their loss.

The children attending the Brookfield school are no ordinary English boys; they are the the children of the upper classes of society, who for generations have learned from institutions such as the school represented here. They are molded at places like this fictional one to be leaders of their country. Mr. Chipping is a teacher who gives his life to Brookfield, only to be bypassed when promotions are handed out. His love for the profession and his dedication to the formation of these children are his reasons for living. Most of his own life is spent at the school. Only in times of crisis is Mr. Chipps recognized. Mr. Chipps knows happiness only too briefly. He is extremely lucky when he finds Katherine. One can see the rapport in her, although we never see it explicitly on Chipping's face, maybe because a stiff upper lip that doesn't let him express his true feelings to a woman who adored him from their first encounter. Mr. Chipps lives long enough to learn about the death of his beloved students in several world conflicts. As a father figure, his life is full because the love and admiration the young boys feel for him. The film made Robert Donat a favorite of the movie going public. Mr. Donat goes from being a taciturn person into a jolly old man living on his own because Katherine dies young. The film improves tremendously when Greer Garson appears. Her luminous presence changes the tone of the movie because of her incredible charm. Paul Henreid makes a short appearance as Staefel, the fellow teacher who invites Mr. Chipps to accompany on a vacation trip to Austria. Sam Wood direction pays a close look to detail. The film is a classic and will live forever.

In the top TEN films of all time, I want to believe that Mr Chips exists for all school-children, that his spirit still hovers around places of learning waiting to guide those who might follow his lead as to decency, strength of character, gentility of nature and spiritual purity. Alas, Mr Chips is not required in 2001!

This film, the story of a gentle English teacher at a British Boarding school, is so timeless and emotionally involving, I find it hard to write about it without having to control my own feelings. Not a wuss by one hell of a long shot, and having last openly cried probably the last time I saw this film, I can only say that exposure to Robert Donat's performance here in the role which won him the most deserving of Academy Awards, is perhaps one of the greatest things can happen in your life. If you think I might be exaggerating, do me a favor - don't watch it! If you watch it and aren't moved, especially when his wife dies, then your life is meaningless!

GOODBYE MR CHIPS is probably the most beautiful film of all time and is a reminder of what we are all really here for. It's not that new pair of trendy shoes, the Rolex, the yellow drop-top with twin exhaust, that sharp Armani suit, the Chanel parfum, the 50,000 shares you picked up for a song last week, your blonde-tipped rinse, Nike shoes or $100 tie.....its for what Mr Chips STOOD for in 1939...and I got news for you, he's still here with his text-book open at the next lesson!

"Mr Chips" is a celebration of the teaching profession. "Chips" finishes teachers' college in England and is almost run over by the students his first day teaching. But he learns how to balance good teaching with the right amount and kind of discipline in order for his students to be guided into a good education. However, he is somewhat shy and almost always in earnest.

"Chips" takes a vacation and meets a woman while doing some hiking. She is his perfect match and they fall in love and marry and she helps him to come out of his shell. He begins cracking jokes that have the students rolling on the desks with laughter. The couple become more than just educators; they begin to care for the children in many other ways.

The film follows "Chips" throughout his growing old. He gives the children morale and courage during the horrors of the War. "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" shows the beauty and rewards of the teaching profession, though it can be very difficult at times. Robert Donat gives one of the greatest acting performances in history. Brilliant! (10 out of 10)

Goodbye Mr Chips must be one of the best films ever made.

The acting of boys, masters and other characters is superb, as is the capturing of the late Victorian/Edwardian period in England, the joy of 1914 on the declaration of war, followed by the sombre roll-calls of the dead in chapel during the war years.

The character of Chips is an instruction in how someone's life can be transformed for the better by fortuitous events, in this case the meeting on the mountain between Chips and Katherine, which changed him from being a shy but well-meaning schoolmaster who found it difficult to establish a rapport with his pupils and colleagues into someone whose hidden depths and charisma were brought into view by a woman he loved.

This gentle, decent and moving film illustrates, through both Chips and Katherine, the importance of giving of oneself to others who in their turn will benefit as human beings; concepts which might seem outdated in our modern world but remain valuable and timeless.

Director Sam Woods (`Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman,' `King's Row,' `For Whom the Bell Tolls') 1939 film `Goodbye Mr. Chips' features a top-notch performance by Robert Donat as the somewhat stuffy English prep school teacher, Mr. Chippings. Chippings early career difficulties are overcome, as is his shyness after he meets Greer Garson (`Mrs. Miniver') in the Alps while on holiday. Garson is able to show the stodgy Chips how to live life and her effect on him lasts throughout the rest of his life, although Garson is not around for long.

The film uses recurring patterns to show the passage of time, namely the showing of the boys arriving at the school each year in the autumn. These segments often contained little historical snippets between the boys, such as `we now have telephones, do you know how to use one?' and mention of Queen Victoria's death and the remark that `it is going to be strange to have a King.' Other historical comments occurred between the teachers such as the remark on a book by a new author, H.G. Wells and how he will never last because his writing is too fantastic. Sadly, Chip's historical error occurs when he comments to the boys that they will not have to go off to World War I as the war cannot possibly last more than a few weeks. So many of the teachers and students end up losing their lives in the Great War. Some other scenes from this film have been parodied through the years in comedies, most noticeably the scenes in the great hall when the headmasters are speaking to the boys is sent up hilariously by John Cleese in `Monty Python's the Meaning of Life' and the scene where Chips canes an insolent student (it is filmed as a shadow against the wall) is later parodied when a punisher is reprimanded for whipping the shadow, not the victim (my memory is failing me here, but I think this is in 1969s `Take the Money and Run' by Woody Allen, I could be wrong as a part of me also thinks that this could be in Mel Brooks' `Blazing Saddles.')

Donat aptly handles the complex role of Chips through the years, from about his mid-20s until his 80s. This may be one of the earlier movies that so aptly chronicles the life and times of a person through such an expanse of years, Dustin Hoffman in `Little Big Man' also performs n this manner, as does Al Pacino in `The Godfather Trilogy,' albeit over the length of three long movies. Even more outstanding and interesting about Donat and his character is that he covers so much of a common man's existence; Chips is a teacher, not a King, general, messiah or Mafia chieftain.

In 1870, Mr. Chipping (Robert Donat) arrives in the traditional Brookfield Boarding School to give history classes in the lower school. He has a rough first day with the indiscipline of the class, and the Headmaster Wetherby (Lyn Harding) advises him that he needs ability to exercise his authority, otherwise he would be fired. He gives a severe punishment to the class achieving the respect of the students. When Wetherby dies in 1888, the old-fashion senior Mr. Chipping expects to be the next headmaster, but he is not promoted. His German colleague and friend Max Staefel (Paul Von Hernried) invites him to travel on vacations with him to Austria, where he meets the progressive British Katherine (Greer Garson). The shy and lonely Mr. Chipping and Katherine fall in love for each other and sooner they get married. Back to Brookfield, the enchantment of Katherine makes Mr. Chips popular with his colleagues and students and he is promoted to housemaster. Katherine makes him believe that he could be the headmaster if he wanted, but she dies in the delivery with their baby. With the beginning of World War I, Mr. Chips is promoted to headmaster until his death after sixty-six years of service to Brookfield.

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is a beautiful movie with a pleasant story of a teacher that might have inspired the author of "To Sir With Love". Robert Donat gives a fantastic performance of a shy and old-fashionable man along sixty-six years of his life. Greer Garson shines in the role of a lovely woman ahead of time and it is wonderful to see her in this role. It is amazing the resemblance of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Brookfield School when the students are reunited with the teachers, and the embarkation of students in the train station, and I dare to write that these locations in "Harry Potter" have been also inspired in the set decoration of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Adeus Mr. Chips" ("Goodbye Mr. Chips")

I noted that IMDb has told us that James Hilton in writing Goodbye Mr. Chips modeled the character out of a former teacher he had at a British public school who had a similar lengthy term of service. It's nice to know that there are people like Chipping actually teaching our future generations out there.

Chips is the sort of role that fit Robert Donat and only Robert Donat. I cannot imagine any other actor playing the cerebral and shy schoolteacher. The film follows him for about sixty of the 83 years of his life.

He arrives at Brookfield School around 1870, a young idealistic graduate certain of the vocation he has chosen. He doesn't mix well and his pedantic ways don't make him a school favorite. Donat certainly changes when on holiday in Europe with Paul Henreid, the German teacher at Brookfield School, he meets and eventually weds Greer Garson.

Goodbye Mr. Chips was Greer Garson's first introduction to American audiences. When she emerges from that mist on the Alp both Donat and she are climbing, she was a star from then on. Her screen image was set as the wise, tactful, and patient wife who was normally partnered with Walter Pidgeon. But she and Donat have good chemistry also.

Paul Henreid also got his first exposure to American audiences as well. Interesting that in 1939 a German would be played so sympathetically. My feelings are that they wanted to show that the Allies had nothing against the German people only the terrible ideology that at that time held them in sway. Long after Henreid has had his last scene it is reported that he is killed in World War I, fighting for his country and against the country that gave him a living for many years. Good people can fight for the enemy also.

Chips is the kind of character that we admire because he's at a job he loves and does give the world that infinitesimal extra ounce of good in doing that job. He's not acclaimed, certainly his demise wouldn't rate banner headlines, but so few of us are lucky to be in jobs and professions we truly love and not do for just a paycheck.

In that great year of Gone With the Wind sweeping the Oscars that year, Robert Donat managed to beat out Clark Gable for the Best Actor Award. He had some other good competition that year with James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms, and Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights. The capstone of a great career.

We should all hold and treasure teachers like Mr. Chipping of Brookfield School and the films made of their lives.

Another film adaptation of a James Hilton novel, Goodbye Mr. Chips tells the story of a shy and awkward young man (Robert Donat) who arrives at a British school for boys to teach Latin in 1870, and remains there for six decades. As you might imagine, the film is highly sentimental has he gradually becomes an institution at the place, sees boys come and go, and we share in the ups and downs of his life. At times it fast forwards through the years on its way to showing us the longer view of a human life, but it has less about the role of teacher than I would have liked. Similarly, not enough is made of his wife (Greer Garson) and what happens there; instead we too often see boys streaming past giving their names for roll call, or Chips commenting about how the son is just like the father or grandfather. There is a gentle sweetness to the film despite moments of real darkness, which must have made it inspirational to a world on the brink of another war, though it does border on saccharine sweetness. The scene where the elderly Chips canes a 17 year old is done with dignity and kindness, but that's just it, it's too dignified, there are no tears, and it has an unrealistic positive outcome - the young man is immediately corrected. It's a solid film, and one that will tug on your heartstrings, but for me fell a little short of being great.

Favorite lines: "I know the world's changing, Dr. Ralston. I've seen the old traditions dying one by one. Grace, dignity, feeling for the past. All that matters today is a fat banking account. You're trying to run the school like a factory for turning out moneymaking snobs! You've raised the fees, and the boys who really belong have been frozen out. Modern methods, intensive training, poppycock!"

And this one, which is how I often see people from the past, frozen in time in my memory: "In my mind, you remain boys just as you are this evening."

A warm, pleasant and charming film about how a person changes throughout life, the people one gets to know, the friendships, and the inspiration that one can provide for many others. It is not so much a film that amazes, but rather one that is hard to flaw. The cast is good, but in particular Robert Donat is excellent, playing the title character from youth adulthood to older age. The film manages to capture both the spirit of youth (the schoolboys) and the experience of their teachers, making it a very well rounded film. Together with an excellent makeup job and a good selection of music to fit the film, the overall result is very praiseworthy.

I enjoyed watching this classic film again. Donat gives a touching performance as Chipping. What impressed me was both his love and disciplining of the students. This is a story of a time long past when teachers stayed at schools for years and watched the generations come and go. Chipping was not a pushover- he rebelled against teaching the "new Latin" and he would not be forced to retire. This film is a reminder of how good films in the 30's were.

Robert Donat, the dashing sexy hero in Hitchcock's "The Thirty Nine Steps", here indulges a tendency to mawkishness in his portrayal of the dusty old schoolmaster which strays shaky foot by shaky foot into caricature. Popular American films of the period tended to emphasise, underline and signpost sentimentality and Donat gamely delivers. Perhaps it was all of a part with the sentimental popular music of the time - cosy and comforting. Hollywood though shortly afterwards produced "Arsenic and Old Lace" - a comedy of a blackness perhaps 30 years ahead of its time - a measure of its then openness and diversity.

Michael Palin's "American Friends" (1991) tells a very similar story to "Chips" but with subtlety, intelligence, beauty and a perfect recreation of English university life (in the 1860's). Dusty English schoolmasters are much more intelligently observed and portrayed in "The Browning Version". Robert Donat was both a star and a fine actor (see for example "The Citadel"). There is simply too much schmaltz in Mr Chips.

A lot of people were mystified that Clark Gable did not win the Oscar for "Gone With The Wind", but as good as he was, he had to play 2nd fiddle to Robert Donat for his amazing performance as Mr. Chipping in "Goodbye Mr. Chips". His was one of the really great acting achievements, and certainly the best he ever did. One has to wonder if ill-health had not shortened his life, just how many more Awards he would have got - but then not many roles like Mr. Chips came along. In what was one of her very early roles, Greer Garson made a lovely Mrs. Chipping - just right for this. Ably supporting was Paul Henreid and Terry Kilburn, but Donat shone like a beacon. The atmosphere of that gentle time in England was well captured by Sam Wood, and this truly is a film for film buffs to really enjoy. If you can get it on DVD or Tape, do so.

Of all the films that I have seen, and there have been many, this film has the distinction of being the only one that makes me cry EVERY time I watch it.

It is a tastefully understated tale, telling the story of Chips' life in episodic fashion.

What makes this film so good however are the performances-- Robert Donat is magnificient through all the ages, Greer Garson's brief appearance makes the film and all the supporting cast are note perfect.

A film like this could be accused of being sugary or over sentimental-- however, the wry humour and the very quietness of the movie prevent that from being true.

This is a true classic-- not to be watched if you don't like b/w or stiff upper lip movies, but a must see for true film buffs.

Sitting down to watch 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939),' I can't say that I was expecting anything but a pleasant time-waster, an inspirational but throwaway drama not unlike Peter Weir's 'Dead Poets Society (1989).' I certainly wasn't expecting a genuinely moving portrait of love, loneliness and lifelong fulfillment, especially not from Sam Wood, the director who also gave us two Marx Brothers comedies. On top of all that, having only seen him in Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps (1935),' I'm afraid that I didn't consider Robert Donat all that much of a dramatic actor. Whether I was mistaken in all my assumptions, or the planets somehow aligned perfectly, I'm happy to say that 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' is a brilliant drama, and one that I'm sure will stay with me for years. Donat, aged just 34 years at the time of the film's release, perfectly captures the melancholy of a man reaching his twilight years. He definitely deserved an Oscar for his portrayal, though whether he deserved to beat out Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)' is a different matter.

In the late nineteenth century, a young Mr. Edward Chipping (Donat) arrives at the prestigious Brookfield boys school to begin his career as a teaching master. Though anxious to get along with his students, he is soon forced to adopt a stricter approach if his class is to be kept in order, the result being that he frequently produces budding Latin scholars without making any friends among them. After a fellow teacher (Paul Henreid) invites him on a walking tour of Austria, Mr. Chipping comes to meet an English woman named Katherine (Greer Garson), who sees through his shy exterior to find a warm, charming and lonely man. Following their impromptu marriage, Katherine returns with Mr. Chipping (now affectionately nicknamed "Chips") to Brookfield, where she encourages him to be more affable and open with his students, so that they see him as a friend and mentor, rather than an oppressor. Chips soon becomes the school's most cherished asset, and his dedication to his students serves the school valiantly through decades of hardship, including WWI.

It's hard to quite pinpoint what works so effectively about Donat's doddering old man, Mr. Chips. With his cartoonish moustache and a ready supply of cringeworthy Latin puns, the character could easily have turned out merely comical. But there's an extraordinary warmth behind the portrayal, and a genuine affection towards the generations of students that pass him by so quickly. Being rather shy in social situations myself, I really connected with the middle-aged Mr. Chips, who dejectedly accepts his future as a lonely school master, only to be brought out of his shell by the new sights and smells of Austria. After he ostensibly "rescues" Katherine on the foggy cliff-side, the pair ponder the apparent power at their fingertips, as though they own the mountain on which they sit. This sentiment reflects upon the influence afforded Mr. Chips in his position as school master, and later headmaster: it is his responsibility to mould a strong and successful nation of dedicated Englishmen, especially in the most difficult times. That WWII was then just around the corner makes this notion all the more poignant.

What can be said that hasn't been already? Absolutely wonderful performances by Donat and Garson, and a grand and inspiring message to anyone who thinks they've gone as far as they can go in life. I have to say, I lost it when Chips was reading the accounts from the front lines, and mentioned a very important person in his life. The shot of the students questioning his choice afterwards while Chips walks away is a haunting image to me.

Anyone who wishes to be a scholar should see this movie. In an age where film would have us think that you need a baseball bat to get respect in school, this is a refreshing and delightful change.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a pleasant little movie. The characters are all very likable and the story is simple, yet satisfying. However, since this film came out the same year as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, it's no wonder that Mr. Chips got lost in the shuffle. And even though this movie may be a bit silly at times, it has a good heart and it's worth watching.

This film changed my life!!!!I taught 35 years in the Chicago Public School System rarely missing a day in part thanks to Mr. Chips. When I saw this film I understood the meaning of good teaching and the proper student-teacher relationship, This film should be shown at all teacher colleges and at Future Teachers Meetings, Also what a great love story in which Mrs. Chips humanizes him. Also who could forget thew line the Danube is Blue only for Lovers .........It will always be blue for me..... Three Cheers for Mr. Chips A teacher for All Seasons

Only mature adults will understand what this film is about, and mature teachers, above all, will certainly find this film very inspiring. This movie exemplifies what the teaching profession should be; not standardized testing or begging for money from the state for various programs. It is, by far, my favorite teacher film, and for good reason. Teaching is about one on one assistance; taking care of each and every student under your auspices. Teaching classes is fine, and group work is fine, but ultimately, it comes down to how you can help each individual in the class if they need it. Robert Donat does a great job, as does Greer Garson. The film is impeccably directed and the script is amazingly good. Make sure you see this one.