Goodbye, Mr. Chips
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Michael Redgrave, Peter O'toole, Petula Clark Director: Herbert Ross Brand: Warner Brothers DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled Picture Format: 2.20:1 Running Time: 155 minutes DVD Release Date: 2009-01-27 Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Studio: Warner Home Video Product features:
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Movie Reviews of Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Movie Review: A Disappointing Retelling of the Classic Tale
Summary: 3 Stars
Let's begin by saying that movie musicals are a breed apart. The very artifice of musicals removes them from the mainstream realism of other film genres. That's why we love musicals: they are romanticised interpretations of a story that is conceptually and inherently sentimental.
The late 60's and early 70's saw the musical interpretation of classic novels such as "A Christmas Carol", "Oliver Twist", "Don Quixote", "Lost Horizon" and this re-make of "Goodbye Mr. Chips." Historically, film musicals had seen better days by the late 60's and Hollywood attempted to revitalize the medium by creating less romanticized versions of these highly romanticized tales. In other words, make the stories relevant to the times (the 1960's).
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips", while well-produced, fails on all levels to meet the romanticised sentimentality inherent in musicals. It also misinterpreted the simplicity of James Hilton's original novella, so beautifully (and non-musically) created by MGM in 1939 with Robert Donat and Greer Garson.
The device of Chipping's wife having a lurid past that leads to political on-campus blackmail is so far off the mark from Hilton's original to be laughable at best. And most remarkably, Peter O'Toole's interpetation of the title character shows no emotional growth out of his crusty persona. He is just as cranky after his marriage as he was before. The most poignant aspect of the story is the softening of his heart through marriage. O'Toole's performance just doesn't seem to show the audience any such growth. And thereby hangs the problem. The film erases all sentimentality from the story in order to make it more palatable to then-modern tastes. As for his singing? Rex Harrison may have gotten away with "speak-singing" in "My Fair Lady", but Peter O'Toole has neither the charm nor the charisma to pull it off.
Then there is Petula Clark's character: a successful musical comedy star with very sophisticated London friends would much prefer to live in the country as a schoolmaster's wife? Highly unlikely. It seems obvious that MGM wanted to cash in on Petula Clark's success as a pop singer and reinterpreted this role to suit that need. That being said, her portrayal is quite good.
Then, there is the problem of Leslie Bricusse's horrendous score. No song is memorable, let alone singable, and the use of sung-over soliloquies is annoying. Outside of "London is London", the film should have been left non-musical. And shortened by 45 minutes. Actually, if it had never been made at all, we wouldn't have missed much.
I give it 3 stars exclusively for its production values. Beautiful cinematography, excellent costuming and passable acting. If you want to enjoy the beauty of Hilton's original, watch Robert Donat's masterful 1939 performance instead.