Gable was robbed

I really think it was a toss-up between Donat's performance in this movie, and Stewart's performance in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Both were deserving and the Academy had to choose one, and I think they made a good decision if not only for the fact that Stewart won for Best Actor the following year.

PHIL: "Ned, I would love to stay here and talk with you... but I'm not going to."

I agree, for the most part, that Rhett was just "Gable being Gable". He did work very hard, though, and truly had to reach for the scenes after Bonnie died. It was very easy in those days simply to play it very broadly - I think actors still were influenced by the stage actor's need to play to the back row. I believe Gable managed to keep his performance in check, making it much more real. Still I give the edge to Donat. The young Chips could have been a simple carboard character. Donat does a good job of giving us a glimpse of the potential the young Chipping has to grow into the man Chips that he becomes.

I still would give the trophy to Stewart - he beats them both!

Donat's performance in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" is the best male performance that I have ever seen. I can't think of any performance (from any year) that was more deserving of an Academy Award.

Jimmy should have won.
His performance is in my top five of all time.

"Let's Surrender."
"Never."

How can you presume to know that Gable did not put work and effort into Rhett, what an incredible pretentious thing to say. Rhett was not supposed to be an intense, dramatically heightened character, like Chips or Healthcliff, he was a Rogue; genial, suave- cheese and chalk darlin'. Each preformance has to be considered within the context of the film

I mean goodbye Mr Chips is all very quaint but quite fusty,(Nothing at all compared to Dead Poet's Society) wheras Gone With The Wind was by far the better story, edgy for its day with confronting characters and brilliant cinematography. (As for Larry in Wuthering Heights, he was a wonderful hollywood construct, but his character did not resemble Bronte's Heathcliff at all and the dialogue; " cathy.....you're still my queen", LOL, poor Emily would be turnin in 'er grave to see her smouldering byronic hero depleated into a love sick fop)

"Quand il me prend dans ses bras, Il me parle tout bas, Je vois la vie en rose.." la mome Piaf

I love all three performances; and Olivier as Heathcliff is terrific in his own way, too. Olivier's performance comes across as a bit over-theatrical to a lot of people today, but it's a genuine performance. Donat, too is a trifle stagy by our standards, but very moving, if you can open yourself to it. Stewart is marvelous -- this is clearly his best role to date, and he was stating on a tremendous roll that included The Shop Around the Corner, The Mortal Storm and The Philadelphia Story.

The years have not been particularly kind to Gone With the Wind -- a classic spectacular, yes, but incorrigibly romantic and wrongheaded about slavery and the South. And it's not just the politics of the film that are a bit embarrassing: Leslie Howard is unbearably annoying (yes, i know that's the character, and we're not supposed to like him by the end, but sheesh).

Gable's Rhett Butler is the best thing about the movie. When he is on screen, the story pops with energy and intelligence, and the movie feels 50 years newer than it is. Now a lot of that is due to the writers, including Margaret Mitchell. There is so much blatant falseness in all the other characters that we always welcome it when Rhett (and Hattie McDaniel as Mammy) comes in to call bullcrap on the rest of them. But Gable was outstanding in the part.

Even today, it's hard to imagine another actor in that part. George Clooney? The charm of the chaacter, yes, but not the danger. Russell Crowe? Opposite problem. Maybe Paul Newman in his day, but he would have had trouble with the speechiness of the part. Jack Nicholson could do attractive, glib, cynical, brutally honest, and dangerously troubled, but even imagining him in the role makes me want to giggle. William Holden, circa 1960, might have been pretty good. I suppose if for some reason Gable hadn't done it, it would have fallen to some stiff like George Brent. Ugh.

I'd have voted for Gable, I think, but they are all four very Oscar-worthy performances. (Sorry, Mickey.)

Robert Donat for me. It seems most agreed with Oscar that year.

I think Jimmy's performance was the best of 1939. But at the same time, it's impossible to argue he was "robbed". Donat performed marvellously in his role as Mr. Chips, and he certainly deserved the Oscar.

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