Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)
| Goodbye, Mr. Chips | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Herbert Ross |
| Produced by | Arthur P. Jacobs |
| Written by | Terence Rattigan |
| Based on |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton |
| Starring |
Peter O'Toole Petula Clark Michael Redgrave Siân Phillips Alison Leggatt |
| Music by |
Leslie Bricusse (songs) John Williams (underscore) |
| Cinematography | Oswald Morris |
| Edited by | Ralph Kemplen |
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Production
company |
APJAC Productions
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| Distributed by |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (US) David Ortan (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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152 minutes (initial release) 148 minutes (video release) 155 minutes (Director's Cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1969 American musical film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Terence Rattigan is based on James Hilton's 1934 novel Goodbye, Mr. Chips, which was first adapted for the screen in 1939.
In 1920s Britain, Arthur Chipping is an established member of the teaching staff at the Brookfield School. He is a stodgy teacher of Latin, disliked by his pupils, who find him boring and call him 'Trenchie', short for trench-water. Chips meets Katherine Bridges, a music hall soubrette, in the dining room of the Savoy Hotel in London on the eve of his summer holiday. Dissatisfied with her career and depressed by her romantic entanglements, she sets sail on a Mediterranean cruise and is reunited with Chips by chance in Pompeii. Seeing in him a lonely soul similar to herself, she arranges an evening at the theatre after they return to Britain, and the two find themselves drawn to each other. When Chips arrives at Brookfield for the autumn term, it is with his new wife on his arm, much to the shock of the staff and delight of the pupils, who find Mrs Chips' charm to be irresistible.
Although her close friend and confidante Ursula Mossbank helps Katherine thwart Lord Sutterwick's plan to deprive the school of a generous financial endowment because of the woman's background, her past eventually deprives Chips of his longheld dream of being named headmaster in 1939. Still, the couple's devotion to each other overcomes all obstacles threatening their marriage, extending through 20 years together, when Katherine is killed in 1944 by a German V-1 flying bomb while entertaining the troops at a local Royal Air Force base. Too late for his wife to share in his happiness, Chips was picked as headmaster of Brookfield that same day, and lives out his years at the school, loved by his pupils and comforted by his happy memories.
A draft of a musical adaptation of Goodbye, Mr. Chips was on file in the M-G-M script department since 1951. In 1964, with Julie Andrews flush from the success of Mary Poppins, trade magazine advertisements announced she would star opposite Rex Harrison, with Vincente Minnelli listed as director, but nothing came of the project. A few years later, it was back on track with its share of pre-production problems, including several changes in the casting of the lead roles. First, Richard Burton and Samantha Eggar were signed. Then Lee Remick replaced Eggar.Gower Champion, who had replaced Minnelli as director, viewed raw footage of Petula Clark in Finian's Rainbow (1968), fired Remick and replaced her with Clark. Remick sued MGM for damages. Burton balked at playing opposite a "pop singer," and he was replaced by Peter O'Toole. Champion also eventually resigned, and the film ultimately became the first-time directorial effort of choreographer Herbert Ross.
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