The novel
- Write Who You Know: Mr. Chips was modelled on W.H. Balgarnie, source book author James Hilton's old classics master who taught for over fifty years at The Leys public school in Cambridge.
1939 film
- Acting for Two: Terry Kilburn plays many different boys of different generations at the school.
- Award Category Fraud: Greer Garson was nominated in the Best Actress category with only twenty-five minutes of screen time. It's one of the shortest performances ever to be nominated for the award.
- California Doubling: Scenes in Austria were filmed in Buckinghamshire.
- Fake Nationality: If you want to get technical, Paul Henreid was an Austrian playing a German character.
- In Memoriam: The film was dedicated to Irving G. Thalberg.
- Star-Making Role: Greer Garson was unknown in Hollywood at the time, and was propelled to stardom.
- Uncredited Role: Clive Dunn as a youth.
- Underage Casting: Although Mr. Chips is approximately 25 years older than his wife Katherine, Robert Donat was almost five months younger than Greer Garson. This is because Donat had to look convincingly young in the film's earliest scenes, which are set when he was Katherine's age.
- What Could Have Been: Charles Laughton was almost cast as Mr. Chips.
1969 film
- Cut Song: Leslie Bricusse composed several songs for the film which were unused, including one titled "The Perfect Man", which only appears briefly and barely audible during Katherine's Party. Some of these unused songs were later reinstated in the 1982 stage musical version.
- Real-Life Relative: Peter O'Toole stars opposite his then-wife Siân Phillips.
- Uncredited Role: Nicholas Frankau as a tardy student.
- What Could Have Been:
- Richard Burton, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Rex Harrison, Christopher Plummer, Paul Scofield, and Peter Sellers were considered for Mr. Chips.
- Julie Andrews, Samantha Eggar, Lee Remick and Elizabeth Taylor were considered for Katherine Bridges.
- "When I Am Older" was originally intended to feature a split-screen sequence in the middle, but this idea was ultimately scrapped.
- Vincente Minnelli was approached to direct.
