53-407: Lost Horizon is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton . The book was turned into a film, also called Lost Horizon , in 1937 by director Frank Capra and a lavish musical remake in 1973 by producer Ross Hunter with music by Burt Bacharach . It is the origin of Shangri-La , a fictional utopian lamasery located high in the mountains of Tibet . The prologue and epilogue are narrated by
106-756: A Tibetan Buddhist centre with the occasional Tibetan monks in saffron robes. The name " Shangri-La " has become a byword for a mythical utopia , a permanently happy land, isolated from the world. After the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, when the fact that the bombers had flown from an aircraft carrier remained highly classified, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the press facetiously that they had taken off from Shangri-La. The Navy subsequently gave that name to an aircraft carrier , and Roosevelt named his presidential retreat in Maryland Shangri-La. (Later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed
159-647: A blue plaque marking Hilton's residence. By 1938, he had moved to California, and his work became more connected with the Hollywood film industry. He married Alice Brown, a secretary at the BBC, just before they left for the United States in 1935, but they divorced in 1937. The same year, he married actress Galina Kopernak , but they divorced eight years later. He became an American citizen in 1948. A heavy smoker, Hilton had various health problems when he made
212-462: A confirmed and lonely bachelor. Despite Chipping's mediocre credentials and his view that classic Greek and Latin (his academic subjects) are dead languages, he is an effective teacher who becomes highly regarded by pupils and the school's governors—he has become a well-worn institution. In his later years, he develops an arch sense of humour that pleases everyone. However, he also becomes somewhat of an anachronism, with an antiquated pronunciation, and
265-752: A farewell visit to England in 1954, and in December he died at his home in Long Beach, California , from liver cancer , with his reconciled former wife Alice at his side. His obituary in The Times describes him as "a modest and retiring man for all his success; he was a keen mountaineer and enjoyed music and travel." He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Long Beach) . After his wife Alice Brown Hilton died in 1962, his remains were reinterred at Knollkreg Memorial Park (Abingdon, Virginia ). Some of Hilton's novels were filmed: Hilton co-wrote
318-413: A large library, a grand piano , a harpsichord , and food from the fertile valley below. Towering above is Karakal, literally translated as "Blue Moon," a mountain more than 28,000 feet high. Mallinson is keen to hire porters and leave, but Chang politely puts him off. The others eventually decide they are content to stay: Miss Brinklow because she wants to teach the people a sense of sin; Barnard because he
371-467: A musical film version appeared, starring Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark , with songs by Leslie Bricusse and an underscore by John Williams . In this version the character of Katherine is greatly expanded, and the time setting of the story is moved forward several decades, with Chips' career beginning in the early 20th century and his later career covering World War II , rather than World War I . O'Toole and Clark's performances were widely praised. At
424-514: A neurologist. This neurologist and a novelist friend, Rutherford, are given dinner at Tempelhof , Berlin , by their old school-friend Wyland, a secretary at the British embassy. A chance remark by a passing airman brings up the topic of Hugh Conway, a British consul in Afghanistan , who disappeared under odd circumstances. Later in the evening, Rutherford reveals to the neurologist that, after
477-615: A reporter's question about the origin of the Doolittle Raid by saying it had been launched from " Shangri-La ". The true details of the raid were revealed to the public a year later. This inspired the naming of the Essex -class aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La (CV-38) , commissioned in 1944. Lost Horizon ' s concept of Shangri-La has gone on to influence other quasi-Asian mystical locations in fiction including Marvel Comics ' K'un L'un and DC Comics ' Nanda Parbat . The book has been adapted for film three times: The book served as
530-561: A young woman whom he meets on holiday in the Lake District . Katherine charms the Brookfield teachers and headmaster and quickly wins the favour of Brookfield's pupils. Their marriage is brief. She dies in childbirth and he never remarries or has another romantic interest. One of the themes of the book is that Chipping so outlasts all of his peers that his brief marriage fades into myth and few people know him as anything other than
583-652: Is a grim story of legally approved lynching brought on by wartime hysteria in Britain. Sigmund Freud , an early admirer despite his tepid reaction to The Meadows of the Moon , came to conclude that Hilton had wasted his talent by being too prolific. From 1948 to 1952, Hilton was also host of one of radio's prestige drama anthologies, Hallmark Playhouse . He also presented six episodes of Ceiling Unlimited (1943) and hosted The Hallmark Playhouse (1948–1953) for CBS Radio . First published in 1933, this novel won Hilton
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#1732784030876636-508: Is also likely to have been based on W. H. Balgarnie , a master at The Leys (1900–30), who was in charge of the Leys Fortnightly (in which Hilton's first short stories and essays were published.) Over the years, old boys wrote to Geoffery Houghton, a master at The Leys and a historian of the school, confirming the links between Chipping and Balgarnie, who eventually died at Porthmadog at the age of 82. Balgarnie had been linked with
689-490: Is given an audience with the High Lama, an unheard-of honor. He learns that the lamasery was constructed in its present form by a Catholic monk named Perrault from Luxembourg , in the early eighteenth century. The lamasery has since then been joined by others who have found their way into the valley. Once they have done so, their aging slows; if they then leave the valley, they age quickly and die. Conway guesses correctly that
742-420: Is pitied for his isolation. On his deathbed, he talks of the fulfilment he felt as a teacher of boys. The setting for Goodbye, Mr. Chips is probably based on The Leys School , Cambridge, where James Hilton was a pupil (1915–18). Hilton is reported to have said that the inspiration for the protagonist, Mr. Chips, came from many sources, including his father, who was the headmaster of Chapel End School. Mr. Chips
795-407: Is really Chalmers Bryant (wanted by the police for stock fraud) and because he is keen to develop the gold mines in the valley; and Conway because the contemplative scholarly life suits him. A seemingly young Manchu woman, Lo-Tsen, is another postulant at the lamasery. She does not speak English, but plays the harpsichord. Mallinson falls in love with her, as does Conway, though more languidly. Conway
848-626: The 42nd Academy Awards , O'Toole was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor , and he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy . In 1984 it was adapted as a television serial by the BBC . It starred Roy Marsden and Jill Meager and ran for six half-hour episodes. Many scenes were filmed at Repton School , Derbyshire, in an effort to remain faithful to the original film. A television film adaptation
901-749: The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and from there travelling back to the 1930s. In addition to its U.S. publication, the novel was further published in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal and Poland and (Eastern Europe) was a New York Times Notable Book. A furore was caused in the late 1990s, when Wigan Council (the Metropolitan Borough responsible for Leigh) announced that a blue plaque in honour of Hilton would be placed not on his house in Wilkinson Street, but on
954-591: The Great Depression , Little, Brown cautiously released a small first print run. Public demand for more was immediate and Little, Brown went into an almost immediate reprinting the same month. Public demand remained strong, and Little, Brown continued to reprint the book in cautious lots for many months, with at least two reprintings per month. The first British edition went to press in October 1934. The publishers were Hodder & Stoughton , who had observed
1007-635: The Hawthornden Prize in 1934. Later, Pocket Books , which pioneered the publication of small, soft-cover, inexpensive books, picked Lost Horizon as its first title in 1939. For that reason, the novel is frequently called the book that began the "paperback revolution." Hilton is said to have been inspired to write Lost Horizon , and to invent " Shangri-La ", by reading the National Geographic articles of Joseph Rock , an Austrian-American botanist and ethnologist exploring
1060-526: The 1960s, Pocket Books alone, over the course of more than 40 printings, had sold several million copies of Lost Horizon , helping to make it one of the most popular novels of the 20th Century. United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt named the Presidential hideaway in Maryland , now called Camp David , after Shangri-La. In 1942, to ensure the safety of returning U.S. forces, Roosevelt answered
1113-490: The 80 white residents of Baskul are being evacuated to Peshawar due to revolution. In the aeroplane of the Maharajah of Chandrapore are: Conway, the British consul, aged 37; Charles Mallinson, his young vice-consul; an American, Henry D. Barnard; and a British missionary, Miss Roberta Brinklow. The plane is hijacked and flown instead over the mountains to Tibet . After a crash landing, the pilot dies, but not before telling
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#17327840308761166-401: The High Lama is Perrault, now 250 years old. In a later audience, the High Lama reveals that he is finally dying, and that he wants Conway to lead the lamasery. The High Lama then dies. Conway contemplates the events. Hours after the High Lama dies, Conway is outside still pondering the events while in the moonlight. Mallinson then grabs him by the arm and tells Conway he has arranged to leave
1219-504: The basis for the unsuccessful 1956 Broadway musical Shangri-La . Lost Horizon is currently available in paperback format and is now published by Summersdale Publishers Ltd [1] , ISBN 978-1-84024-353-6 and Vintage [2] , ISBN 978-0-099-59586-1 in the UK and by Harper Perennial, ISBN 978-0-06-059452-7 in the United States. James Hilton (novelist) James Hilton (9 September 1900 – 20 December 1954)
1272-517: The book and lyrics for Shangri-La , a disastrous 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of Lost Horizon . There is one sequel to Lost Horizon titled Shangri-La and written by Eleanor Cooney and Daniel Altieri. It was licensed by the publisher William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins ) and approved by the heirs to the Hilton Estate, Elizabeth Hill and Mary Porterfield. Shangri-La continues James Hilton's tale, moving it forward in time to
1325-651: The character of Mr. Chipping in Goodbye, Mr. Chips , a best-seller. Hilton first sent the material to The Atlantic , and the magazine printed it as a short story in April 1934. On 8 June, it was published as a book. Four months later it appeared as a book in Britain. Hilton wrote his two best remembered books, Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips , while living in a house at 42 Oak Hill Gardens, in Woodford Green in northeast London. The house still stands, with
1378-581: The disappearance, he discovered Conway in a French mission hospital in Chung-Kiang (probably Chongqing ), China , suffering from amnesia . Conway recovered his memory, told Rutherford his story (which Rutherford recorded in a manuscript), and then slipped away again. Rutherford gives the neurologist his manuscript, which becomes the heart of the novel. In May 1931, during the British Raj in India,
1431-648: The four (in Chinese, which only Conway speaks) to seek shelter at the nearby lamasery of Shangri-La. The location is unclear, but Conway believes the plane has "progressed far beyond the western range of the Himalayas " towards the less known heights of the Kuen-Lun mountain range. The four are taken there by a party directed by Chang, a postulant at the lamasery who speaks English. The lamasery has modern conveniences, like central heating, bathtubs from Akron, Ohio ,
1484-422: The lead role, beating Clark Gable , James Stewart , Laurence Olivier , and Mickey Rooney . While some of the incidents depicted in the various screen adaptations do not appear in the book, this film is generally faithful to the original story. The exteriors of the buildings of the fictional Brookfield School were filmed at Repton School , an independent school (at the time of filming, for boys only), located in
1537-788: The original novel, but using most of the Leslie Bricusse vocal score of the 1969 film, was mounted at the Chichester Festival and opened on 11 August 1982. The book was by Roland Starke and the production was directed by Patrick Garland and Christopher Selbie. Among the Chichester Festival cast were John Mills as Mr. Chips, Colette Gleeson as Kathie, Nigel Stock as Max, Michael Sadler , Paul Hardwick, Simon Butteriss and Robert Meadmore in supporting roles, and 20 local school boys, including Kevin Farrar who
1590-476: The retreat Camp David after his grandson, and that name has been used for it ever since.) Zhongdian , a mountain region in the northwest of Yunnan province China, has been renamed Shangri-La (Xianggelila), based on its claim to have inspired Hilton's book. W.H. Balgarnie , a master at The Leys School, Cambridge and Hilton's father, headmaster of Chapel End School in Walthamstow , were the inspirations for
1643-471: The school for 51 years and spent his last years in modest lodgings nearby. Like Mr. Chips, Balgarnie was a strict disciplinarian, but would also invite boys to visit him for tea and biscuits. Hilton wrote upon Balgarnie's death that "Balgarnie was, I suppose, the chief model for my story. When I read so many other stories about public school life, I am struck by the fact that I suffered no such purgatory as their authors apparently did, and much of this miracle
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1696-714: The southwestern Chinese provinces and Tibetan borderlands. Still living in Britain at the time, Hilton was perhaps influenced by the Tibetan travel articles of early travelers in Tibet whose writings were found in the British Library. Christian Zeeman, the Danish father of the mathematician Christopher Zeeman , has also been claimed to be the model for the hero of the story. He disappeared while living in Japan (where his son
1749-465: The story of a beloved school teacher, Mr Chipping, and his long tenure at Brookfield School, a fictional minor British boys' public boarding school located in the fictional village of Brookfield in the Fenlands . Mr Chips, as the boys call him, is conventional in his beliefs and exercises firm discipline in the classroom. His views broaden, and his pedagogical manner loosens after he marries Katherine,
1802-414: The success of the book in the United States, and they released a much larger first print run. It sold 15,000 copies on the day of publication, and they quickly found themselves going into reprints as the reading public's demand for the book proved insatiable. With the huge success of this book, James Hilton became a best-selling author. In 1938, he published a sequel, To You, Mr Chips . The novella tells
1855-571: The television show Breaking Bad with the premise that the show's protagonist Walter White would turn "From Mr. Chips to Scarface " through the series' course. In the Marx Brothers film At the Circus , as Groucho Marx is about to walk out of a scene, he shakes hands with a nearby caged monkey and says, "Goodbye, Mister Chimps." In 2009, the short-running ABC sitcom Better Off Ted titles its 6th episode "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" wherein
1908-423: The town hall. This caused great debate amongst the populace of Leigh, which considered it more appropriate to have it on the house itself, which is only a few hundred yards from the town hall. Subsequently, in 2013, a blue plaque was affixed to his birthplace at 26 Wilkinson Street. In 1997, a blue plaque was erected on the wall of 42 Oakhill Gardens, Woodford Green , the modest semi-detached house in which Hilton
1961-531: The valley with porters and Lo-Tsen. Barnard and Brinklow have decided to stay. The porters and Lo-Tsen are waiting for him five kilometers outside the valley, but he cannot traverse the dangerous route alone, so he convinces Conway to go along and assist him. Conway is caught, divided between the two worlds. Ultimately, because of his love for the boy, he decides to join Mallinson. This ends Rutherford's manuscript. The last time Rutherford saw Conway, it appeared he
2014-667: The village of Repton , in Derbyshire , in the Midlands area of England, whilst the interiors, school courtyards and annexes, including the supposedly exterior shots of the Austrian Tyrol Mountains, were filmed at Denham Film Studios , near the village of Denham in Buckinghamshire . Around 200 boys from Repton School stayed on during the school holidays so that they could appear in the film. In 1969
2067-513: The works were not regarded as of the same quality as his better-known novels. Hilton's books are sometimes characterised as sentimental and idealistic celebrations of English virtues. This is true of Mr. Chips , but some of his novels had a darker side. Flaws in the English society of his time—particularly narrow-mindedness and class-consciousness—were frequently his targets. His novel We Are Not Alone , despite its inspirational-sounding title,
2120-436: Was Lo-Tsen, aged drastically by her departure from Shangri-La. The narrator wonders whether Conway can find his way back to his lost paradise. The book, published in 1933, caught the notice of the public only after Hilton's Goodbye, Mr. Chips was published in 1934. Lost Horizon became a huge popular success and in 1939 was published in paperback form, as Pocket Book #1 , making it the first "mass-market" paperback . By
2173-694: Was again the host. A radio adaptation by the NBC University Theatre was broadcast on 10 July 1949, starring Herbert Marshall and Alma Lawton . Agnes Eckhardt wrote the adaptation, and Andrew C. Love was the director. Barbara Burnham adapted the book for a stage production in three acts, which was first performed at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 23 September 1938, with Leslie Banks as Mr. Chips and Constance Cummings as his wife Katherine. It ran for over 100 performances until 14 January 1939. A stage musical based on
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2226-458: Was an English novelist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for his novels Lost Horizon , Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Random Harvest , as well as co-writing screenplays for the films Camille (1936) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), the latter earning him an Academy Award . Hilton was born in Leigh , Lancashire , the son of John Hilton, the headmaster of Chapel End School in Walthamstow . He
2279-434: Was born in 1925), and was reputed to be living incognito in a Zen Buddhist monastery. Some say that the isolated valley town of Weaverville, California , in far-northern Trinity County , was a source, but this is the result of a misinterpretation of a comment by Hilton in a 1941 interview, in which he said that Weaverville reminded him of Shangri-La. Coincidentally, Junction City (about 8 miles from Weaverville) now has
2332-410: Was broadcast on 16 September 1948. Jean Holloway wrote the adaptation, Dee Engelbach was the producer and director, and James Hilton was the host. A second version, told from the point of view of Mrs. Chips as portrayed by Deborah Kerr , was broadcast on 1 February 1951. Whitfield Connor was Mr. Chips, Leonard St. Clair wrote the adaptation, Bill Gay was the producer and director, and James Hilton
2385-650: Was broadcast on the BBC National Programme at 20:00 on 23 July 1936, with Richard Goolden in the title part and a cast that included Norman Shelley , Ronald Simpson , Lewis Shaw and Hermione Hannen . There was a repeat broadcast the following evening. A radio adaptation by the Lux Radio Theatre starring Laurence Olivier and Edna Best and presented by Cecil B. DeMille was first broadcast on 20 November 1939. A radio adaptation by Hallmark Playhouse starring Ronald Colman
2438-465: Was due to Balgarnie." The mutton chop side whiskers of one of the masters at The Leys earned him the nickname "Chops", a likely inspiration for Mr Chips' name. In Hilton’s final novel, Time and Time Again (1953), protagonist Charles Anderson bears clear biographical similarities to Hilton himself. Early in the novel, Anderson briefly reminisces about attending Brookfield and knowing "Chips". A 50-minute adaptation by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham
2491-574: Was educated at the Monoux School Walthamstow till 1914, then The Leys School , Cambridge, and then at Christ's College, Cambridge , where he wrote his first novel and was awarded an honours degree in English literature. He started work as a journalist, first for the Manchester Guardian , then reviewing fiction for The Daily Telegraph . Hilton's first novel, Catherine Herself, was published in 1920 when he
2544-637: Was living with his parents from 1921. James Hilton should not be confused with the Leigh businessman of the same name who became chairman of Leigh Rugby League Football Club after the war and after whom the club's former ground, Hilton Park (1947–2009), was named. Goodbye, Mr. Chips Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two television presentations. The story
2597-669: Was originally issued in 1933, as a supplement to the British Weekly , an evangelical newspaper. It came to prominence when it was reprinted as the lead piece of the April 1934 issue of The Atlantic Monthly . The success of the Atlantic Monthly publication prompted a book deal between the author and the US publisher Little, Brown and Company , who published the story in book form for the first time in June 1934. Published during
2650-441: Was preparing to make his way back to Shangri-La. Rutherford completes his account by telling the neurologist that he attempted to track Conway and verify some of his claims of Shangri-La. He found the Chung-Kiang doctor who had treated Conway. The doctor said Conway had been brought in by a Chinese woman, who was ill and died soon after. She was old, the doctor had told Rutherford, "Most old of anyone I have ever seen," implying that it
2703-582: Was produced by STV Studios (then known as "SMG TV Productions") in 2002. It aired on the ITV Network in Britain and on PBS 's Masterpiece Theatre in the United States. It starred Martin Clunes and Victoria Hamilton with Henry Cavill , William Moseley , Oliver Rokison and Harry Lloyd . Goodbye, Mr. Chips was parodied in the British sketch comedy programmes Hale and Pace (as Piss Off, Mr. Chips ) and Big Train . Vince Gilligan created
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#17327840308762756-541: Was selected by Bricusse to sing the final verse of the iconic "School Song". The original cast album was recorded on the That's Entertainment Records label TER 1025 at Abbey Roads Studios in London on 17/18 August 1982. JAY-jay Records also have a release of it. This version stars Robert Donat , Greer Garson , Terry Kilburn , John Mills , and Paul Henreid . Donat won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in
2809-428: Was still an undergraduate. The next 11 years were difficult for him, and it was not until 1931 that he had success with the novel And Now Goodbye . Following this, several of his books were international bestsellers and inspired successful film adaptations, notably Lost Horizon (1933), which won a Hawthornden Prize ; Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1934); and Random Harvest (1941). After this, he continued to write, but
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