ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939)

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a romantic drama, based on James Hilton’s book of the same name and directed by Sam Wood and Sidney Franklin.

An old classics teacher, and former headmaster of Brookfield School, “Mr Chips” (Robert Donat) looks back over his long career, remembering pupils and colleagues, and above all the idyllic courtship and marriage to Katherine (Greer Garson), who he met in the Alps while on holiday with his friend and colleague Staefel (Paul Henreid), and that meeting transformed his life, and the effect she had on him lasted throughout his life.

Robert Donat deftly handles the role of Chips through the years, from his arrival at the school as a young man in his mid-20s until he lays on his death bed in his 80s.

A wonderful film that cleverly marks the passage of time with snippets of conversation between boys or masters as they return to school in the autumn mentioning keys events, such as Queen Victoria's death, the advent of the telephone, a book by a new author, H.G. Wells, and of course the Great War.

It is a sentimental story, but it is also poignant and thought provoking and is essentially a chronicle of a common man's existence as he touches the lives of hundreds.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE 39 STEPS (1935)

 

The 39 Steps is a thriller based on the book by John Buchan and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The hero of this adventurous tale is a Canadian visitor to London, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) who, after spending the evening at the Music Hall where “Mr Memory” was performing, he meets Annabella Smith (Lucie Mannheim), a counter-espionage Agent who is trying to evade enemy agents who he subsequently takes back to his flat so she could hide until morning.

However during the night, the agent is killed and Hannay is accused of her murder, so he must go on the run to save himself and travels to Scotland to clear his name and stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.

For those who have not seen it I suggest that you do so, it benefits from a great script, by Charles Bennett, witty, humorous and intelligent.

The film is benefits from exquisitely understated acting, in particular Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll as Hannay’s feisty romantic interest, Pamela.

In addition to the stars John Laurie and Peggy Ashcroft’s cameos as the Crofter and his wife are excellent.

The film also excels technically with the lighting, photography and camera work and of course the deft hand of Hitchcock drives the narrative with the fast-paced action.

The iconic scene where Hannay alights from the Flying Scotsman on the Forth Bridge will live forever in cinematic history.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (1951)

 

No Highway in the Sky, is a thriller written by Nevil Shute and directed by Henry Koster, in which aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey (James Stewart) is being sent to Labrador from London to examine the wreckage of a new Reindeer class passenger plane designed by his company, Rutland.

The absent-minded Honey boards the Reindeer class plane, and only realizes once on board, that the plane is due to fail catastrophically in a few hours after the plane is airborne when it has reached a specific number of flying hours, namely the tail section will separate from the fuselage, caused by metal fatigue after 1440 flying hours.

He decides to warn a member of the cabin crew, Marjorie Corder (Glynis Johns), who in turn informs Captain Samuelson (Niall MacGinnis) and Co-Pilot (Kenneth More). 

When they land at Gander Airport the tail section is thoroughly examined and deemed safe so Honey sabotages the plane by collapsing the undercarriage, so it has to be grounded.

On his return to England, he must set about proving his theory or face prosecution and dismissal and soon finds himself defending his sanity in an English courtroom.

Fortunately, a sympathetic actress, Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich) and stewardess Marjorie Corder come to his defence.

As he is a widower with a 12-year-old daughter, Elspeth (Janette Scott), Monica and Marjorie take a liking to Mr Honey and Elspeth, and the latter is clearly lonely and isolated.

Monica Teasdale speaks to Honey's superiors on his behalf, claiming she believes in him and Marjorie stays on with Honey and his daughter as a nurse. 

There are also a host of household names of the British Cinema who add to the tension and authenticity of the tale, Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan, Ronald Squire, Dora Bryan, Felix Aylmer, Maurice Denham, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Bessie Love, to name a few.

James Stewart is simply wonderful as the boffin Mr. Honey, and Marlene Dietrich, who casts a lasting light on proceedings, are the stars in this film masterpiece and the supporting actors are on top of their game, in particular Janette Scott as the daughter, and the wonderful Glynis Johns in a typically faultless performance and the ever-reliable Jack Hawkins.

A film definitely worth seeing, well scripted, well directed and well-acted, sadly, they don’t make movies like this anymore, and probably never will again.