Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)

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 novella of the same name, which originally was adapted for the screen in 1939.

Plot

Terence Rattigan's screenplay is a major departure from the simple plot of Hilton's novella. The time frame of the original story was advanced by several decades, starting in the 1920s, continuing through World War II, and ending in the late 1960s.

While Arthur Chipping remains a stodgy teacher of Latin, disliked by his students at Brookfield, Katherine Bridges has been transformed into a music hall soubrette who first meets Chips in the dining room of the Savoy Hotel in London on the eve of his summer vacation. 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 theater after they return to England, 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 faculty and delight of the students, who find Mrs. Chips' charm to be irresistible.

Although her close friend and confidante, Tallulah Bankhead-like actress Ursula Mossbank, helps Katherine thwart Lord Sutterwick's plan to deprive the school of a generous financial endowment because of the woman's...
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