Memories of a Boys' School Headmaster

Robert Donat as Chips. 

Based on James Hilton's novella, Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) follows the life of Mr. Charles Chipping (Robert Donat), a shy and somewhat rigid Latin teacher at the English boys’ school Brookfield. Early in his career, he struggles to connect with students and colleagues, remaining an unremarkable figure—until a chance meeting changes everything.

While on holiday in the Alps, Chipping meets Katherine Ellis (Greer Garson), a warm, spirited young woman who sees the kindness beneath his stiff exterior. Their marriage transforms him: he becomes more confident and more compassionate--and also more respected by his students.

Told in flashback, as an elderly "Chips" reflects on his life, Goodbye, Mr. Chips uses a narrative structure built almost entirely from vignettes. Each one is a brief, self‑contained memory from Chips' long life at Brookfield. The film unfolds as though we are moving through his own recollections—quick flashes of defining moments: his disastrous first class of unruly boys, the sting of being passed over for headmaster, the quiet heroism of teaching while bombs fall during World War I. These scenes don’t build a traditional plot so much as accumulate emotional weight, showing how a seemingly modest life becomes meaningful through countless small encounters.

Greer Garson and Donat.

The only extended sequence in the film is the section in which Chips meets, courts, and marries Katherine. Even that runs less than half an hour, but in the context of his life it represents a turning point—the brief, luminous period that reshapes everything that follows. Because Katherine’s influence transforms Chips from a timid, overlooked teacher into the beloved figure remembered by generations of students, it makes sense that the film lingers there. 

Robert Donat carries film wonderfully, portraying Chips as a young man, a middle-aged teacher, and an elderly retired headmaster. His performance earned him a Best Actor Oscar at the 12th Academy Awards against competitors that included Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind), Laurence Olivier (Wuthering Heights), and James Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). 

Greer Garson was nominated for Best Actress despite her brief screen time (losing the award to Vivien Leigh). It remains one of Garson's best performances--she lights up the screen as Katherine. In fact, my only quibble with Goodbye, Mr. Chips is that Katherine's role in Chips' story is so small. I understand this is the story as Hilton wrote it--and that he is making a point about how brief periods in one's life may have the greatest impact. That still doesn't negate the fact that Garson makes Katherine so charming, intelligent, and caring that one wants to see more of her!

There have been three other adaptations of Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark starred in a pleasant (if overlong) musical version in 1969. A British miniseries in 1984 starred Roy Marsden (Dalgliesh) as Chips and Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) played the character in a 2002 made-for-TV film.