Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Director:

Sam Wood
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Writers:

R.C. Sherriff (screenplay) and
Claudine West (screenplay) ...
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Release Date:

28 July 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

At The Top Of The Year's "Ten Best" - The picture that earns for 1939 a proud place in motion-picture history!

Plot:

An aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades.

Plot Keywords:

Headmaster | School | Teacher | Boarding School | Marriage

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 nominations

Cast

Robert Donat	...	Mr. Chips
Greer Garson	...	Katherine
Terry Kilburn	...	John Colley / Peter Colley I / Peter Colley II / Peter Colley III
John Mills	...	Peter Colley as a young man
Paul Henreid	...	Staefel (as Paul Von Hernried)
Judith Furse	...	Flora
Lyn Harding	...	Wetherby
Milton Rosmer	...	Chatteris
Frederick Leister	...	Marsham
Louise Hampton	...	Mrs. Wickett
Austin Trevor	...	Ralston
David Tree	...	Jackson
Edmund Breon	...	Colonel Morgan (as Edmond Breon)
Jill Furse	...	Helen Colley
Scott Sunderland	...	Sir John Colley
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leonard Boucher	...	(uncredited)
Henry Caine	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
David Croft	...	Perkins - Greengrocer's boy (uncredited)
Leo de Pokorny	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Cyril Frankel	...	Schoolboy extra (uncredited)
Peter Gawthorne	...	Army General (uncredited)
Martita Hunt	...	British Tourist on Bicycle (uncredited)
Simon Lack	...	Wainwright (uncredited)
Jack Lambert	...	(uncredited)
John Longden	...	Raven (uncredited)
Patrick Ludlow	...	(uncredited)
Guy Middleton	...	McCulloch (uncredited)
Phyllis Morris	...	(uncredited)
Cyril Raymond	...	Teacher (uncredited)
J.H. Roberts	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Michael Shepley	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Nigel Stock	...	John Forrester (uncredited)
Ronald Ward	...	(uncredited)
Caven Watson	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Wood
Sidney Franklin		(uncredited)

Writing credits
R.C. Sherriff		(screenplay) and
Claudine West		(screenplay) and
Eric Maschwitz		(screenplay)
James Hilton		(book "Goodbye, Mr. Chips!")

Produced by
Victor Saville	....	producer

Cinematography by
Freddie Young		(as F.A. Young)

Film Editing by
Charles Frend

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Production Management
Harold Boxall	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
E.M. Smedley-Aston	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.C. Stevens	....	sound recordist
A.W. Watkins	....	sound recordist
John W. Mitchell	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerry Massy-Collier	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Richard Addinsell	....	composer: special music
Louis Levy	....	musical director

Thanks
Sidney Franklin	....	grateful acknowledgment
Irving Thalberg	....	acknowledgment

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)

Also Known As:

Goodbye Mr. Chips! (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #5086) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Trivia:

The first film of Judith Furse.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In a scene where Mr. Chips is climbing a mountain in his attempt to "rescue" Kathy, he passes by a cross marking the spot where someone died that is written in English. He is in the Alps of Austria, however, so the sign should be in German.

Quotes:

[dying words]
Mr. Chipping 'Mr. Chips': I thought I heard you saying it was a pity... pity I never had any children. But you're wrong. I have. Thousands of them. Thousands of them... and all boys.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)

Soundtrack:

The Cuckoo and the Nightingale

One of the best films ever made

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.