Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Open the dictionary, under the word charming it says Goodbye, Mr Chips. Mr Charles Chipping is a very shy young man, he starts teaching at Brookfield, an all boys English school. His early days at the school don't go very well at all, after coming close to losing his job he goes too far by way of discipline and costs the school dearly by way of a sporting tradition. It seems that all the school is against him, be it the children or his fellow teachers, Mr Chipping can't do right for doing wrong. Whilst taking a holiday in the Austrian Alps, Chipping meets Katherine Ellis, from there his life and general manner will change dramatically - for the better. Goodbye Mr Chips just oozes classic status, from every single frame you get a wonderful vibe that takes you back to a time when innocence was all we had. I think that Goodbye Mr Chips surely touches most people? Maybe some folk in their make up have no time for such sweet sentimentality? But just maybe those people could do far worse than letting Mr Chips into their lives. It has taken me nigh on 30 years to actually get around to watching this film in its entirety, and having sat through it recently I feel rewarded beyond what I had originally hoped for. From the bumbling fear that Mr Chipping shows in the opening reel, to the closing scene that brings the whole damn film to its wonderful point, Goodbye Mr Chips is a truly beautiful, charming and joyous picture. Of all the Oscars that have been given over the years, Robert Donat's is one of the most deserved. It's a performance that fuses all the emotional traits required to outlay a character that's finding itself, be it shy and retiring, or a man driven by a willingness to succeed, Robert Donat layers this turn to such a point that it may well be a 30s standard. Greer Garson only has something like 20 minutes of screen time, but as 20 minute performances go - well it leaves a long and special impression. There is a scene as Donat and Garson dance with carefree abandon, this alone makes the film worth watching. Still, a film is only as good as its ending, and it's here that Goodbye Mr Chips delivers the crown to its royal subject, an ending that ties up all the emotional strings that make for a wonderful film. So if you haven't got a warm glow come the final credit? Well there is no hope for you really. Thank you Mr Starkey and Mr Lowry, this film reminded me of your good teachings many years ago in my primary school years. 9/10

What a gorgeous, gentle, film about the end of empire and of an era that showed a culture of respect and deference that has now long since vanished. Robert Donat always managed to portray the quintessential Englishman well - if, at times, in a little overly stilted fashion; and with Greer Garson's beautiful representation of a lady of the times this leaves us with a slightly warm feeling. Certainly, it doesn't not promote any equality amongst the sexes, but the "Blue Danube" scene has to be amongst the most romantic ever committed to film.