Goodbye, Mr. Chips

1h 39m 6.3/10

Overview

In the later years of the nineteenth century Latin master Mr. Chipping is the mainstay of Brookfields boys boarding school, a good teacher and a kindly person but he is considered to be married to the job so that it is a surprise when, on a walking holiday, he meets and marries the vivacious Kathie,who becomes his helpmate at the school but sadly pre-deceases him. Just before World War One insensitive new headmaster Ralston tries to edge Chipping out but the boys rally and Sir John Rivers, an old pupil of Chipping's and now head of the board of governors, invites him to stay and,when the war breaks out and Ralston joins up, Chipping becomes the new head.

Director

Stuart Orme

Top Billed Cast

Victoria Hamilton

Kathie

Patrick Malahide

Ralston

Martin Clunes

Mr. Chipping

Conleth Hill

Max Staefel

John Wood

Wetherby

David Horovitch

Burnley

Reviews

Peter McGinn

5/9/2023

6/10

I had seen at least one version of this novel adapted for film, but I have always liked Martin Clunes so I wanted to watch this one. He does his usual stellar performance in the title role, and Victoria Hamilton, who stood out in Lark Rise to Candleford, is vivacious and perfect here as Kathie. The movie is perfectly fine, though I can’t say I will be drawn to watch it again in the future. As with To Serve Them All my Days, the story follows a long-serving school teacher who share the experience of seeing their graduates dying in a world war, as well as both having their wives die young. This movie comes off sad to me, even with his small victories in school policy and student progress, a feeling which might have been mitigated if he had been allowed to be married more than a couple of years. I suppose in most movies the hero triumphs over evil or danger; Mr. Chips settles for triumphing over boredom and sadness.