If you watch this expecting a kind of topical biography of a teacher at an English school for boys, a gentle and unspectacular story, with romance, a growing acceptance of one's fate, and a lot of sentiment, you'll get what you expect.
They run these sort of movies out from time to time. "It's a Wonderful Life," "Mr. Holland's Opus," "The Long Grey Line." The narratives tend to span generations. I found this one rather interesting and it's not surprising that it received so much public acclaim that Michael Redgrave was able to do a loony impression of Robert Donat's Mr. Chips in "The Lady Vanishes." You can't help liking it.
Donat begins his teaching career as a nervous wreck, uncertain and stiff. But then he runs into Greer Garson in an improbable setting. Their marriage brings him a bit of ego strength. Of course, Garson (and the baby she's been carrying) have to die in order to boost the ratio of sentiment to everything else.
Donat has one funny moment -- aside from his awkwardness. The Headmaster wants him to switch from the received pronunciation of Latin, in which "c" is pronounced "see", to the new modified and older version in which "c" is pronounce like "k". By this time, the middle-aged Mr. Chips has become defiantly laggard, declares hotly that he will never bring himself to pronounce Cicero as Kikero, and storms out the door.
Yet, it's far from a comic story. If you like love, romance, tragedy, small triumphs, you'll love it.
They run these sort of movies out from time to time. "It's a Wonderful Life," "Mr. Holland's Opus," "The Long Grey Line." The narratives tend to span generations. I found this one rather interesting and it's not surprising that it received so much public acclaim that Michael Redgrave was able to do a loony impression of Robert Donat's Mr. Chips in "The Lady Vanishes." You can't help liking it.
Donat begins his teaching career as a nervous wreck, uncertain and stiff. But then he runs into Greer Garson in an improbable setting. Their marriage brings him a bit of ego strength. Of course, Garson (and the baby she's been carrying) have to die in order to boost the ratio of sentiment to everything else.
Donat has one funny moment -- aside from his awkwardness. The Headmaster wants him to switch from the received pronunciation of Latin, in which "c" is pronounced "see", to the new modified and older version in which "c" is pronounce like "k". By this time, the middle-aged Mr. Chips has become defiantly laggard, declares hotly that he will never bring himself to pronounce Cicero as Kikero, and storms out the door.
Yet, it's far from a comic story. If you like love, romance, tragedy, small triumphs, you'll love it.