Cinema
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Sam Wood · 1939
Synopsis
1928, the first day of term at Brookfield. The assembly is told that old Mr. Chipping, retired for fifteen years, is kept at home by a cold: it will be the first time in fifty-eight years that he has missed the start of term. He comes all the same, and reassures a young master, Mr. Jackson, who dreads his first days. Back at Mrs Wickett's, who lodges him across from the school, he dozes off by the fire and sees himself arriving at Brookfield in 1870, at twenty-five.
Context
The film was shot in England, at the Denham studios that Alexander Korda had had built and which the American company had taken over for its British subsidiary; the exteriors were shot in a real school, at Repton. It is drawn from a short narrative by James Hilton published in 1934, and is dedicated to Irving Thalberg, a producer at the same company, who died before filming began. Greer Garson made her screen debut in it, in a brief role. The framing narrative opens in 1928; all the rest is a flashback, from the young master's arrival to his old age.
Who it is for
One hundred and fourteen minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French version. The story follows the same man over more than sixty years, from the age of twenty-five to old age.
Prizes and reception
Seven Oscar nominations, including best picture; Robert Donat won best actor ahead of Clark Gable, who was thought to be the favourite.
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