Mr. Chips was modeled on W.H. Balgarnie, James Hilton's old classics master who taught for over 50 years at The Leys public school in Cambridge.
34-year-old Donat ages 63 years (1870-1933) over the course of the film. He remarked: "As soon as I put the moustache on, I felt the part, even if I did look like a geat airedale come out of a puddle."
Greer Garson was initially offered a contract for MGM in 1937, but refused all the minor parts she was offered until she got the role of Kathy Ellis in this film.
The poster art for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" depicts a youthful Robert Donat (as he appears in the early scenes of the film) with the young Greer Garson. However, the two never appear together like this in the film. Chips is about fifty when he first meets Katherine, who is about half his age.