A magnificent performance by James Mason forms the centerpiece of this thriller, a perversely evil “Goodbye Mr. Chips” directed by Sidney Lumet. At a Catholic boys' school, a tense atmosphere is punctuated by calculated attacks of violence, threats of mutilation, and the desecration of religious artifacts. A new physical education instructor (Beau Bridges) attempts to discover the source of these Satanic goings on, and walks right into an intense rivalry between Mason, an aging Latin professor who is despised for his severity as well as for his refusal to retire, and Robert Preston, the professor who is next in line for seniority. Mason's skill at creating an evolving persona--as he did in A Star Is Born and Bigger Than Life--is clearly in evidence here. Critics otherwise divided on the film were united in their praise of his treatment of the character, a veteran professor who is gradually reduced from prideful pedantry to anger and despair.