Goodbye, Mr. Chips

A musical set in an English boarding school. Chipping teaches Latin. He is bound to the rules, distant and not liked by his pupils; he makes no jokes in class and calls nobody by name. He has done the same job at the school for years and is not considered for the headmastership. On a holiday he goes to a theatre and sees Katherine on stage. She is a known performer in the music halls; their worlds are nothing alike. They marry. Katherine comes to the school and it becomes a problem: a master's wife having worked on the stage is not acceptable to the board. Where the film goes is her changing the school. She talks to the boys, invites them to the house, and Chipping's stiffness slowly loosens. The war is in the background. Boys who leave the school go to the front and their names are added to the memorial. The songs are set inside the narrative; most are sung as inner voice and there is no large dance number. Peter O'Toole plays Chipping and Petula Clark plays Katherine. Herbert Ross directed; it is his first film as director. The source is James Hilton's short novel, filmed before in the 1930s. A suitable choice for anyone who likes classic English school stories and calm musicals. For a viewer expecting a fast musical, the film is long and the songs do not speed the narrative.