Goodbye, Mr Chips.
A film that would make you wish you'd had at least one good teacher and not an absolute shower of bastards who all hated children. The story of Mr Chipping (Chips to his students) from his first day teaching Latin in 1870 to his death aged 83 in 1933 and the effect his kind temperament and interesting teaching methods had on his pupils during his 6 decades teaching them. It's a remarkable film led by a stunner of a turn from Robert Donat.
One scene always sticks in the mind though. Mr Chipping has been called out of retirement to help with the teacher shortage in 1914 due to the start of The Great War against Germany. Every Sunday in chapel Chips reads aloud the names of British soldiers who've died in battle on the fields of the Somme, Verdun and the other massive battles at the Western Front. The names of boys he's taught and we remember are called out, his voice cracks but that stiff upper lip keeps him steady. Then he mentions a name of a teacher he once worked with. A German teacher who went home to fight for his country. A friend who's fallen in battle too. It highlights the massive human toll that war took but also Chip's great humanity. The kids hearing about this German soldier don't quite understand it yet but thanks to their teacher they will eventually.
A brilliant film.
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