Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Director:

Sam Wood
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Writers:

R.C. Sherriff (screen play) &
Claudine West (screen play) ...
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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 | Love

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 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)
Clive Dunn	...	Youth (uncredited)
Cyril Frankel	...	Schoolboy Extra (uncredited)
Peter Gawthorne	...	Army General (uncredited)
Dane Gordon	...	Cast Member (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		(screen play) &
Claudine West		(screen play) and
Eric Maschwitz		(screen play)
James Hilton		(from the book "Goodbye, Mr. Chips!" by)

Produced by
Victor Saville	....	producer

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

Film Editing by
Charles Frend		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Harold Boxall	....	production manager

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

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

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

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director

Thanks
Sidney Franklin	....	grateful acknowledgment: for his contribution in the preparation of the production
Irving Thalberg	....	acknowledgment

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios, Ltd.) (A Sam Wood Production)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1939) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• 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)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | USA:Approved (PCA #5086) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:Btl | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Trivia:

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 26, 1941 with Greer Garson reprising her film role.

Quotes:

Katherine:It must be tremendously interesting to be a schoolmaster, to watch boys grow up and help them along; to see their characters develop and what they become when they leave school and the world gets hold of them. I don't see how you could ever get old in a world that's always young.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Soundtrack:

The Sherwood Forresters

Donat gives one of the best performances in history. Wonderful movie!

"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)