The novel spans the life of an English school master Robert Donat whose lonely and inhibited existence is transformed through the love of his understanding spouse Greer Garson into a good-natured pedagogue beloved by generations of his students. Wood's direction of Donat was painstaking in its precision, a role that required the actor to portray his character in youth and old age (in four stages, at twenty-four, forty, sixty-four and eighty-three years-of-age). An inherently touching tale, Wood demonstrated his restraint in telling the story convincingly without lapsing into sentimentality. Actress Greer Garson made her Hollywood debut with "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". Just days before "the still uncast" actress was to return to Great Britain after M-G-M had withdrawn her film option, Wood by chance saw her screen test and quickly informed M-G-M that he wanted her to play the role of Katherine.