Sam Wood's 1939 film, starring Robert Donat, is a timeless, warmhearted classic that still stands wonderfully tall more than eighty years later. One can't help but be skeptical about a remake, let alone a musical one; it's a normal, healthy reaction, I think. Still, filmmaker Herbert Ross had some notable credits in his career, and singular star power can hardly be greater than Peter O'Toole's. Unfortunately, Ross' 1969 picture doesn't have quite as strong a reputation as Wood's, and it doesn't take long after one starts to watch that we begin to see why. It's not that this reimagined version is altogether bad. What it is, however, is unnecessary. This rendition of 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' isn't so much earnestly absorbing as it is too often emptily overdone.
It is the nature of remakes and adaptations to change certain details, helping each variation to become a distinct creation all its own. We accept this; it's fine, usually, to one degree or another. Here, the details of the title mostly feel like hollow embellishment, diluting the core value of the tale, and that even goes for how some scenes are executed even if they're suitable in concept. The introduction of Katherine, and all those scenes with her, seem less a crucial part of Chipping's story, and more a strange B-plot that distracts from the real meat of the narrative - unfortunate, since her part is substantially expanded here. Conflicts introduced into the plot of any level, mostly connected to Katherine, might be intended to add extra comedy or drama to the proceedings, but they generally strike me as trifling. As well done as the musical numbers may be, they broadly feel quite superfluous, and frankly, maybe downright inauthentic. The result of all these facets, the songs especially, is to all but squash the pacing, as though the picture were trudging through thick mud to get where it's going. Needlessly expanded to two and a half hours, there's a lot of 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' that drags relentlessly, and watching sadly becomes a bit of a chore, even at its best.
Don't take this to mean that there's no worth in this, because that's not true. Terence Rattigan has filled his screenplay with some sharp dialogue, and clever scene writing, and considered in and of themselves the plot points are delightful. Even in his debut as director Ross shows strong capability, and Oswald Morris' cinematography is often rather lovely. The filming locations and production design are swell, as is the costume design. This is, really, as well made as one could hope most any contemporary title to be. Though constrained somewhat by those same factors that sap strength from the feature as a whole, I do think the cast also mostly give splendid performances, more evident at some points (the quiet and thoughtful) more than others (any songs, or more clamorous scenes). O'Toole is reliable, and Sian Phillips, with supporting figures like Petula Clark or Michael Bryant only half a step behind. There are some specific moments where these actors, or others, emphatically shine with all the wonderful brilliance we know they possess, and it's so glad an occasion when it happens. Yes, surely, there is much to like here.
The trouble is that Ross' 1969 film isn't the sincere, wholehearted telling of Mr. Chipping's long, beloved career as a schoolmaster, all the lives he has touched, and all he has lived through. It's instead the middling, sometimes thin story of Chipping, and Katherine, and the trials and tribulations they face individually or together. It's not that this story isn't deserving in its own right. Rather, this 'Chips,' well made as it may be at large, creates its own drama independent of that central tenet, and thereby becomes common and unexceptional. It's not poorly made, but blandly written, and is kind of forgettable for the fact of it; even beats that are in one way or another culled from its predecessor are woefully weaker here. Even so I won't say that this isn't enjoyable, but that enjoyment is significantly tempered by those ways in which the title is made to be watered down, heavy-handed, drawn out, or in any other way unsettled. Maybe I would be inclined to view it more favorably if I hadn't first seen Wood's landmark, but since I have, I can only reflect that Ross' is noticeably inferior. 1969's 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' is possibly worth watching if you come across it, but the truth remains that it's not an incredible must-see as the 1939 picture is. And there's the rub.
It is the nature of remakes and adaptations to change certain details, helping each variation to become a distinct creation all its own. We accept this; it's fine, usually, to one degree or another. Here, the details of the title mostly feel like hollow embellishment, diluting the core value of the tale, and that even goes for how some scenes are executed even if they're suitable in concept. The introduction of Katherine, and all those scenes with her, seem less a crucial part of Chipping's story, and more a strange B-plot that distracts from the real meat of the narrative - unfortunate, since her part is substantially expanded here. Conflicts introduced into the plot of any level, mostly connected to Katherine, might be intended to add extra comedy or drama to the proceedings, but they generally strike me as trifling. As well done as the musical numbers may be, they broadly feel quite superfluous, and frankly, maybe downright inauthentic. The result of all these facets, the songs especially, is to all but squash the pacing, as though the picture were trudging through thick mud to get where it's going. Needlessly expanded to two and a half hours, there's a lot of 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' that drags relentlessly, and watching sadly becomes a bit of a chore, even at its best.
Don't take this to mean that there's no worth in this, because that's not true. Terence Rattigan has filled his screenplay with some sharp dialogue, and clever scene writing, and considered in and of themselves the plot points are delightful. Even in his debut as director Ross shows strong capability, and Oswald Morris' cinematography is often rather lovely. The filming locations and production design are swell, as is the costume design. This is, really, as well made as one could hope most any contemporary title to be. Though constrained somewhat by those same factors that sap strength from the feature as a whole, I do think the cast also mostly give splendid performances, more evident at some points (the quiet and thoughtful) more than others (any songs, or more clamorous scenes). O'Toole is reliable, and Sian Phillips, with supporting figures like Petula Clark or Michael Bryant only half a step behind. There are some specific moments where these actors, or others, emphatically shine with all the wonderful brilliance we know they possess, and it's so glad an occasion when it happens. Yes, surely, there is much to like here.
The trouble is that Ross' 1969 film isn't the sincere, wholehearted telling of Mr. Chipping's long, beloved career as a schoolmaster, all the lives he has touched, and all he has lived through. It's instead the middling, sometimes thin story of Chipping, and Katherine, and the trials and tribulations they face individually or together. It's not that this story isn't deserving in its own right. Rather, this 'Chips,' well made as it may be at large, creates its own drama independent of that central tenet, and thereby becomes common and unexceptional. It's not poorly made, but blandly written, and is kind of forgettable for the fact of it; even beats that are in one way or another culled from its predecessor are woefully weaker here. Even so I won't say that this isn't enjoyable, but that enjoyment is significantly tempered by those ways in which the title is made to be watered down, heavy-handed, drawn out, or in any other way unsettled. Maybe I would be inclined to view it more favorably if I hadn't first seen Wood's landmark, but since I have, I can only reflect that Ross' is noticeably inferior. 1969's 'Goodbye, Mr. Chips' is possibly worth watching if you come across it, but the truth remains that it's not an incredible must-see as the 1939 picture is. And there's the rub.