Auf Wiedersehen, Mr. Chips

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.

"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.

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.

The more I read on IMDB the more I realise that so many people interested in movies do not consider films more than 25 years or so old. I suspect that this is because most users of IMDB are aged 30 - 40 ish. Goodbye Mr Chips is exactly (on first sight) the type of movie that many of you would not even consider viewing. It has no special effects, cost peanuts to make, no clever camera work but it does have those three essentials - superb story, great script and staggeringly good acting from Donat. The movie is about life, relationships, about despair and decency and the power of love. What more could anybody ask for in a movie? If this film doesn't move and inspire you then truly nothing will.

P.S. the Peter O'Toole version is pretty dire!!