Coming from Hollywood's 'Golden Year', 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' is a classic example of a low-key effort turning into something of an all-time great. Although financed by MGM, this had none of the fanfare of 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Mr Smith Goes To Washington' and certainly none of the hysteria of 'The Wizard of Oz' or 'Gone With The Wind'. Yet, for all those film's extraordinary efforts, it was the unassuming, mannered form of Robert Donat who beat Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable and James Stewart to the Best Actor Oscar in the sort of roles that come about once in a lifetime.
Indeed, a lifetime is the focus of 'Goodbye, Mr Chips', spanning more than half a century of the dimiuitive master's intern in the illustrious boarding school of Brookfield. Over the course of his life Chips breaks down his moulded university professor into a heartwarming, reliable and immensely loveable school tradition. He becomes near enough part of the scenery, as much a force of impact and nature as the school itself. We see generation upon generation test Chips on whether he still has his game, and he always shines through. It's a brilliantly joyous message, if a little dark and sugar coated.
There's a surprising dynamic at work here. Chips gets, and loses, the love of his life in classic Hollywood fashion, but he isn't the stereotypical hero who then adds a layer of darkness to his character. Chips seems to be by nature a man who simply cannot connect, even though, at times, he desperately wants to. Like Quasimodo, another character given new life in 1939, he is sensitive and caring enough to give love to everyone he wants to, but fate just hasn't picked him; instead he must live the life of an ordinary character, suffered and enjoying in equal measure. Through it all is Robert Donat, and a simply incredible performance.
Ageing vastly had been done before in film, but never in such a nuanced and carefully constructed way. Practically claiming ownership of Method acting a generation before it became fashionable, Donat reinvents Chips every age moved forward, making his appearance wilder and more ragged, making his voice softer and warmer, even managing to put a rust on the optimistic shine in his eyes, it's a wonderful piece of acting. No wonder the Academy chose Chips over Rhett, Jeff and Heathcliff.
Quiet, stirring stuff comes from all around, including Garson as the doomed Kathy (must have been in vogue in '39), who transcends required love interest to genuinely change Chip's chracter. It's strange to see a romance so grounded and believable in such a high-flying era. Also worth a mention is Terry Kilburn, the little bright-eyed Colley, managing to pull of several generations who look strangely the same convincingly, and also to manipulate the audience so skillfully and effortlessly into blubbing like babies come the final reel.
This is gorgeous stuff, heart-warming and incredibly endearing. If it's a little too sentimental, the final 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' seeming to be on purpose, it was just Hollywood's way of making mucho moolah in the day when the Dream Factory seemed to be real. This, though, is a real treat, a solid weepie, beautifully made, acted and assembled. A unique experience.