The Enchanted Cottage (1945)

10/10

blanche-214 October 2007

Warning: Spoilers

Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire meet in "The Enchanted Cottage," a 1945 film based on a play and originally filmed as a silent in 1924. Herbert Marshall, Mildred Natwick and Spring Byington also are in the cast.

The story is told in flashback by Major Hillgrove (Marshall), a blind composer who has written a musical piece in honor of a married couple, Oliver and Laura and is debuting it for his guests. When he learns that they will be late, he tells their story.

McGuire plays Laura, a hopelessly plain, lonely young girl who goes to work in the cottage for a severe woman, Mrs. Minnett (Natwick) whose life stopped in 1917, the day her husband was killed in the war. The cottage has long been a haven for young marrieds, and they have all written their names on one of the windows. Oliver (Young) arrives with his pretty fiancée to put a deposit on the cottage for their honeymoon - but Mrs. Minnett predicts that they won't be back. Oliver goes off to fight in World War II and does return to the cottage alone, to hide the injuries to his face that he suffered in battle. He and Laura befriend one another; she falls in love with him. Eventually they marry, mostly for convenience on his side in order to keep his pushy family from moving in with him or trying to get him to leave the cottage.

One day, they realize that they have become beautiful, flawless people and excitedly tell the Major about it. When he learns that Oliver's family is going to visit, he is afraid that Laura and Oliver will learn the truth.

This is such a wonderful story of two people who are made beautiful to each other in the enchanted cottage because of their love for one another. Robert Young was such a huge television star that it's hard to remember that he started in film in the 1930s. He never achieved superstardom, but he played some good roles. Oliver is perhaps his best part and his best performance. He plays the full range of the character, from his confident handsomeness to his angry bitterness to self-acceptance and does an excellent job. He and Dorothy McGuire costarred in several films and worked very well together. She is heartbreaking in Laura's loneliness and self-loathing but also captures her wistfulness.

A very emotional film that touches on the insecurity, the feeling of being different and apart that many people, if not most, experience. The dark, overstuffed cottage, the isolation of it and many scenes done at night all lend a special, almost eerie atmosphere to the film. But as Oliver and Laura arrive outside of the Major's house, one can tell that they have stepped into the light at last.

A great movie. Not to be missed.

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8/10

A beautiful film about seeing with your heart, not your eyes

jem13225 April 2006

This is a lovely, almost-forgotten little RKO weepie from the 40's. It boasts touching performances from it's two leads, Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young, and a fine supporting turn by the always good Herbet Marshall.

'Enchanted Cottage' has a real message. This is a film about seeing with your heart, not your eyes. Laura Pennington (McGuire) and Oliver Bradford (Young) learn to do so while cast under the magic spell of the 'enchanted cottage' they are inhabiting. It seems a hokey concept on paper, but this film really works.

Laura is a homely maid who looks as if she is going to spend her days as a spinster. She takes on a job at a pretty cottage owned by a dour old widow. Oliver Bradford originally wanted the cottage as a honeymoon location for him and his soon-to-be bride. However, Oliver was called to war a day before their wedding. He is disfigured and scarred as a result, and upon arriving home, his fiancé expresses disgust (although we never see it) at his changed appearance. Crippled, bitter and lonely, he takes the cottage as a single man. The kind-hearted, yet plain, Laura helps him in his loneliness, as she too knows what it feels like to be judged on looks alone.

They eventually decide to marry out of convenience. But the spell of the enchanted cottage starts to work on them on their wedding night, as they realise the true love and affection they harbour for each other, a love that goes past face value and transports them into another realm.

It is a tender love story. McGuire is never anything but convincing as the downtrodden yet kind Laura; she impressed me a lot more here than in her Oscar-nominated work for 'Gentlemen's Agreement'. All the time throughout watching the film I was thinking of her as a perfect actress for 'Jane Eyre'. She certainly could play the plain, ordinary girl well, with emotional depth and understanding. Indeed, the relationship between the once-handsome but now-scarred Oliver and the homely, unwanted maid Laura is reminiscent of the Jane-Rochester relationship.

The widow seems to subscribe to the English novel theory too; her stopped clock at the time of her husband's death is very 'Miss Havisham' from 'Great Expectations'.

Marshall is great, giving his usual understated performance as the blind composer who cannot 'see' with his eyes, but can feel with his heart and his brain.

A great musical score accompanies the scenery well, and appropriately dark cinematography complements the darker points of the story too. This was a war-time pic, and once again we are being shown the harsh realities of war through the disabled figure of Oliver. Still, this is more of a love story than propaganda.

This was made by the cash-strapped RKO studio, and today it is little-known. Apparently finding this film is hard, but here in Australia the ABC free-to-air network plays it regularly. I view myself as lucky.

This a tearjerker, and a beautiful romance story. Keep the tissues nearby.

8/10.

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8/10

Sweet People, Profound Message

ccthemovieman-131 October 2006

This was a nice, short fairy tale-type romance with truly nice people in the leads: Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire. One of the best features of this film, to me, was listening to McGuire's soft, sweet feminine voice. It certainly went with the nice, compassionate character she played in this movie ("Laura Pennington").

Robert Young, as "Oliver Bradford," also is very good in here and Herbert Marshall is outstanding as the blind neighbor, "Major John Hillgrove." The annoying character was played by Spring Byington but her "Violet Price" role was small.

This is the story of a plain woman and a battle-scarred World War II pilot who meet at this cottage, fall in love, see each other as beautiful thinking that some mystical power at the cottage and transformed their faces, but in the end find out they haven't changed at all. They find out that love changed they way they looked at each other. Sounds corny, but a lot of profound truth to it.

I read one famous critic write that this film could have been better. Well, I don't doubt it, but you could say that about most movies. I have no complaints with it. I do have a question: it's listed at 91 minutes but my tape only plays for 79. Did I have 12 minutes cut out of the story on my VHS?

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8/10

Not For A Honeymoon, But For Solitude

bkoganbing14 June 2010

The Enchanted Cottage is about two emotionally wounded people who find themselves and find love in the cottage where the man was supposed to honeymoon with his intended bride and the woman worked as a maid to the lady who owned the place.

Robert Young who is a Boston Brahmin has plans to marry the beautiful Hillary Brooke and they've got a beautiful seaside cottage owned by Mildred Natwick in which to honeymoon. They're about to close the deal when it's announced that Pearl Harbor has been attacked. Like so many others the war puts a hold on personal plans and Young goes off to enlist.

But Young comes back from the war facially disfigured, no longer the charming and self assured to the manor born type he was before. He takes the cottage not for a honeymoon, but for solitude as he wants to shut the world out.

Dorothy McGuire plays the rather plain Jane maid who Natwick employs and who crushes out big time on Young at first sight. He doesn't notice her back then, but he notices her now and the two when they start to open up and communicate discover love. Is it them or is it the cottage they're in who some say does cast an enchantment over folks.

The Enchanted Cottage is a Madame X style weepy woman's picture made enjoyable by the sincere performances of its stars. McGuire is truly touching why she did not get an Oscar nomination is really ridiculous. The film did get one nomination for Best Musical Scoring.

On hand also is Herbert Marshall as a blind veteran from the first World War who is a pianist. Marshall was in fact a wounded veteran, he lost a leg in combat there and understood his character very well. He guides the younger generation to some self realization. Spring Byington plays Young's mother and her usual flighty character takes on a bit of an edge to it as she can't see what kind of angst Young is going through.

The Enchanted Cottage holds up very well for today's audiences, it could probably be remade with very few changes made and then only to place and time because the message about love is timeless.

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9/10

An enchanting and transforming romance

johno-2115 May 2006

This is a forgotten gem of a movie that I have only seen two or three times over the years but it's a well made romance/drama/fantasy film that deserves a look. A WWII casualty played by Robert Young was to be married and honeymoon in a New England historic quaint honeymoon cottage before the war and fate stepped in. Instead he returns from the war with disfiguring and disabling injuries bitter and resentful and as he takes refuge in the cottage he was to have honeymooned in he meets a housekeeper who is plain in appearance and self doubting in confidence and appears resigned to an unmarried life. They marry at first out of convenience and then the magic of the centuries cottage ignites in them the beauty of the soul. Noted British playwright Sir Arthur Wing Pinero wrote the play The Enchanted Cottage: A Fable in Three Acts as a moral booster to WWI veterans resuming life after the Great War with many disabled and disfigured. It was first staged in London in 1921 and then in America on Broadway in the spring of 1923. The stage play was quite different from the two filmed versions in it showed the stories of three couples who honeymooned in the cottage set in England over the years. It also had witches and cherubs and imps. Four roles from the play made the transition to the film Laura Pennington, Oliver Bashforth (with a slight change to Bradford), Major John Hillgrove and Mrs. Minnett. Hollywood filmed a silent film version in 1924 with a script adapted by Gertrude Chase and Josephine Lovett that eliminated the overt supernatural characters and other wedding couples so it centered more on the four main characters. For the 1945 film Screenwriters Dewitt Bodeen and Herman J. Maniewicz do a rewrite of the 1924 adaptation with John Cromwell directing. Cromwell had made such films as The Prisoner of Zenda, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Of Human bondage, Abe Lincoln in Illinois and So Ends Our Night among many in his fine directorial career. Proliffic cinematographer Ted Tetzlaff who photographed such films as Talk of the Town, I Married a Witch and Notorious is the the film's cinematographer. Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire star along with fine performances by Herbert Marshall, Mildred Natwick and Spring Byington. This is a fine film and is indeed enchanting. I would give this a 9.0 out of 10.

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Touching, classic, romantic fantasy

maxwell_hoffmann26 December 2000

Warning: Spoilers

This is a very touching, classic film that will stick with you for a long time. Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire play two "unattractive" outcasts who are literally transformed by their gradual discovery of love for one another. (Watch for the brief flash of McGuire "half beautiful/half homely" near the end of the film). Unusual roles for both Young and McGuire, and arguably their best performances in any film of that decade.

Herbert Marshall gives a deft, deceptively "understated" performance as the blind "middle man" who helps them to really "see" for the first time. Brief but memorable performances from strong supporting cast; Spring Byington, Mildred Natwick and Hillary Brooke. Thoughtful cinematography, lighting and set decorations help sustain the mood and help capture the "willing suspension of disbelief" to allow you to accept the film's "enchanted" gifts.

The film has an especially touching musical score. A "tone poem" played on piano by narrator Herbert Marshall is the spring board for the flashback that reveals the story. The haunting melody reoccurs throughout the film in various moods.

Rarely shown, and unfortunately not available on video, this wonderful film is available on Turner Classic Movies. Set your VCR or alarm clock to stay up after midnight for this one. It (the story) will haunt you for a long, long time. It would be an especially magical film to watch on the "big screen" should a repertory cinema near you have the good instincts to revive this classic.

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10/10

Soothing, healing, appealing film!

flikflak31 January 2002

This film has the power to entertain, as well as heal. My wife and I watch it every so often, to put that sweetness back into life. What other film can do that? The acting is superb; the actors are alive with their roles. A stirring suspense abounds.

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The Golden Age of Romantic Fantasy!

malvernp1 December 2007

"The Enchanted Cottage" appeared during a decade marked by World War II, the advent of the rough reality of film noir, the increased use of Technicolor to enhance box office appeal and the decline of the film studios accompanied by the rise of television. In this period of great change appeared some of the most endearing black and white romantic fantasies ever produced by Hollywood. Why? Perhaps these films were meant to take us back to a better place, where decency, honor, love and sincerity influenced our behavior much more profoundly than they do today.

During the 1940s, we were enthralled by the beauty of such classic romantic fantasies as "Random Harvest", "Ghost and Mrs. Muir," "Tomorrow is Forever," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," "Sentimental Journey," and "The Enchanted Cottage." Was it coincidence that during a time of such instability and stress, many of us sought out the almost magical effect of these stories of hope and redemption? Occasionally a small later film-----like "Marty"-----would explore themes somewhat similar to those posed in "The Enchanted Cottage" about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder-----and that possessing a good character and a sensitive soul were much more valuable than the attractive looks that often produce superficial and transitory relationships between people.

"The Enchanted Cottage" seems to cast a spell upon its viewers-----as many of these postings reveal. Apparently its story of the purity of true love is timeless.

And to the poster who ventured the opinion that "The Enchanted Cottage" surpassed "Random Harvest" as a romantic fantasy, let me venture a gentle disagreement. In any event, seek out all of these great films of the 1940s and be transported to a time when being sentimental was not a sin and believing in the power of romance was not an embarrassment.

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8/10

It's not a myth!

david-197621 December 2006

When I was a little boy, my mother used to say that "The Enchanted Cottage" was her favorite movie. It was a long time before I ever saw it.

This is a lovely little film. Herbert Marshall does his usual good job playing someone impaired in some way but with a great deal of emotional fortitude. Mildred Natwick, cast a bit against type (she was a lovely comedienne) as the landlady, a dour WWI widow, ends up being sweet.

This is one of Robert Young's best performances, and I think that he is often underrated. He was something of an insecure man, and he projects his humanity so well in this and in many other films of the 1940's; of course, I'd gladly buy insurance from Jim Anderson, too!

What really strikes me about this film, though, is that the Young character, returning from the war, finds himself to be disfigured, and "Laura Pennington" believes herself to be ugly and unattractive. One of the things that has often struck me about people is how little their actual physical beauty affects how they perceive themselves, and how that influences their behavior.

Could it be that Robert Young's scar and Dorothy Malone's plainness are more in their minds than on their faces? Could it be that love can transform not only the plain so that they believe that they are beautiful, but also that it can transform the beautiful so that they can see that quality in themselves? The reason that this film works--and it works wonderfully well--is that it appeals to every person who has ever felt inadequate, and that there are very few people (and let's face it, those very few are probably sociopaths) who don't feel inadequate.

Pinero, the playwright of the original, understood this all to well, but it has never been a popular way of looking at things: in a way, this film is a "revenge of the nerds," which says (as does the nerd film) that beauty is, truly, in the eye of the beholder.

Really nice acting on the part of all concerned, including the wonderful Spring Byington. We don't have Hollywood actors like Byington and Marshall anymore, those wonderful character actors whose presence in a movie was part of the tissue that held it together, and connected it with other films. Lubitsch, Sturges, Capra, RKO, Warner Bros, and even MGM had a stable of these actors whose presence illuminated their work and expanded on it. Someday I will make a list of them and dilate on this subject further. This is a little gem that needs to be seen more often.

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A Romantic Parable

dougdoepke13 February 2013

I suspect the movie is mostly a matter of taste. It does get pretty sticky toward the end. Nonetheless, it's a slick production even if RKO's idea of uglyfying the lovely McGuire is to thicken the eyebrows and leave off the makeup. I wish they would have really made her homely; that way the story would be even more poignant. But Hollywood being Hollywood, there's no way they would have chanced the audience sticking with a truly homely female lead, in make-up or not.

The moral, however, is a strong one—the transformative power of love. Oliver (Young) senses Laura's (McGuire) inner beauty, such that in his eyes her inner beauty is transformed magically by the enchanted cottage into an outer beauty, as well. At the same time, Laura transforms his crippled arm into a body made whole by the power of her love inside the enchanted cottage. Of course, the changes only exist in the eyes of the lovers, and once others reveal this to the lovers, they must deal with their true physical appearance, which they are able to do thanks to the love they now share.

This is all brought off in fairly effective fashion, thanks to McGuire's compelling performance and RKO's outstanding art and set departments, respectively. The exterior sets, in particular, complement the overall special mood. Then too, McGuire was always able to project a soulful quality when needed. I darn near cried when Laura, liberated from her duties as a kitchen drudge, is snubbed at the dance. Catch her fleeting expressions of hope as they pass into defeat as the young soldiers, one by one, withdraw from her physical plainness. It's heart-breaking. For me, it was a compelling performance. Also, Herbert Marshall's pivotal role as the blind pianist shouldn't be overlooked. He, of course, is able to sense the inner worthiness of the disfigured lovers before they themselves do. And Marshall brings it off in typically persuasive fashion.

The movie's basically a romantic parable, sticking to that theme throughout. In short, the results are certainly not a Rambo or The Terminator, and thus, not everyone's cup of tea. But the movie (despite the few flaws) certainly works for me, hauntingly, since I first saw it many, many years ago.

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8/10

Exceptional love story; excellent performances

vincentlynch-moonoi16 August 2012

Warning: Spoilers

I'm very pleased to see that this film gets a good strong rating, even though it is not well known. It is a favorite movie of mine.

There is one thing I must criticize -- the outdoor sets are so fake looking...but then again, most of the action takes place inside.

As the film begins, we meet a blind man (Herbert Marshall) out walking with his grandson. They come across Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire), who is about to visit Mrs. Minnett (Mildred Natwick). Natwick owns a cottage that is used only for newlyweds, and McGuire is going to work for her. McGuire is very, very plain looking...perhaps homely...which is interestingly done primarily through harsh shadows and unkempt hair.

Soon, Oliver Bradford (Robert Young) and his fiancée (Hillary Brooke) come to look at the cottage, but Natwick senses that their upcoming marriage will be interrupted by WWII, in which Young will be a flyer. Indeed, Young crashes before the marriage and is disfigured with a scar and a lower lip that looks as it might if one had a stroke (quite well done). Young goes to the cottage, but without his fiancée, and he refuses to communicate with his relatives. McGuire interrupts him as he is about to commit suicide. Of course, over time they fall in love and marry.

And, as their love deepens, they become handsome/beautiful again. And then, Young's mother and second husband come to visit, and Young and McGuire learn that they are still homely and disfigured. But, Herbert Marshall counsels them and they realize all they need is their love.

Robert Young is excellent here...undoubtedly his best screen effort. Indeed, he once said this was the finest love story of all time, and named one of his homes "The Enchanted Cottage". Young may have been more ingratiating in "Father Knows Best", but this is a very fine screen performance.

Dorothy McGuire is also excellent. She is a much underrated actress, and this may very well be her finest role, as well.

This may have been the first role in which I really took note of Herbert Marshall. He's excellent here...as he almost always was...and he is very convincing as a blind man (with the help of some special contact lenses).

Mildred Natwick has one especially fine scene here.

I usually give an "8" only to occasional "big" movies, and this is not a "big" movie. But it is truly enchanting. It's on my DVD shelf, and it gets a solid "8".

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We loved the movie so much, we named our home after the title

cox-13 January 2000

My wife and I had seen this wonderful,hopeful romantic film, long ago.When we retired to the Ocean Shore, we built our dream cottage. All who visit have remarked on the feeling they get when they enter our home. We christened it The Enchanted Cottage and had that name carved across our mantle.We love to tell the story behind the name and even have a copy of the Movie to share with others as the video is no longer available.Our friends are charmed by the premise, and share our feeling about this absolute gem of a movie.

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10/10

Proving once again that it's inner beauty that counts.

fixerup20 January 2002

Warning: Spoilers

SPOILERS AHEAD ---- SPOILERS AHEAD Do not read this unless you have seen the movie or do not mind knowing in detail what this movie is about.

This movie takes place over an 18 month period but the entire story of the cottage dates back to the mid 1700's. Oliver (Robert Young) and his fiancee make plans to stay at the Cottage after they marry. Oliver is called to war and the wedding is postponed. Oliver gets injured in the war and comes home. His injuries are a badly scarred face including the cheek, eye and mouth. He has also lost the use of the arm on the same side of his body as the facial injuries. He returns to the Cottage after being released from the armed services and has already seen his fiancee and because of her reaction is hiding out at the cottage. Oliver's fiancee and his parents try briefly to convince him to come back home to no avail. Laura (Dorothy McGuire) is working as a maid at the cottage and feels sorry for herself and unattractive and out-casted as does Oliver. Over the next 3 or 4 months they have bonded and marry more out of need then love. The cottage doused it's magic dust over them and on their wedding night they see each other in a different light. They are both interesting and beautiful. Is it really the cottage or is it true love?

Time Line of the Cottage

1750-1790 English nobleman built the estate on a New England State coast beach--During this time most of the estate burned except one wing which was refurbished and the son of the English Nobleman lived in the cottage with his new wife for several years and then it was used for newlyweds which the son of the English nobleman appears to have been the first. The English Nobleman continued the tradition after the son moved out of the cottage. It is stated that the Son and his new bride were the first to live in the cottage. We are made to understand the main estate had burned before the cottage was ever used as a newlywed home and was remodeled which means it might have encountered minor repairable damage or clean-up from the fire but we can conclude that the fire happened prior to 1790 when we see that newlyweds had been living in the cottage.

1790 We see signitures of newlyweds as early as 1790 on the glass window. (Judith & Richard 1790)

The cottage burned down at least a hundred plus years before Abilgail or her husband were even born. Abilgail didn't lose any property to fire, the English Lord that built the estate lost it to fire. Abilgail received it as it was when it was given to her husband as their wedding present.

1915-1917 Approx. when Abigail and her new husband move into the cottage which was a wedding gift to the husband.

April 6 1917 Abigail's husband leaves to go to World War I and gets killed, Abigail stopped the calendar the day her husband went to war. (The calendar reads April 6, 1917)

December 07, 1941 (Sunday) Laura moves into the cottage, this is the same day Oliver & his fiancee come to make payment and planed on getting married on Tuesday Dec 9, 1941 and returning to the cottage that same Tuesday. Abilgail Minnit has lived alone for at least 24 years, 8 months, and one day until Laura moves in.

December 07, 1941 (Sunday) Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor and Oliver is called to active duty immediately. His fiancee notifies Mrs. Minnit by tele-gram that the cottage will not be needed and sends compensation for the inconvenience Approx. Jan-Feb 1943 Mrs. Minnit receives a tele-gram that Mr. Bradford (Oliver) will be there that same day and Laura states that it is amazing he even remembered the cottage, that it had been over a year since he and his fiancee had been there. June 06, 1943 Oliver and Laura get married, Mrs. Minnit sets the calendar the day of the wedding. Laura had already lived in the cottage for 1 1/2 years and Oliver for about 5 to 6 months.

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9/10

This film has held me in its spell for many years!

PudgyPandaMan27 July 2008

Warning: Spoilers

It has been quite a few years since seeing this movie, which is a shame since I am such a fan. This movie was appropriately released at the end of WWII, as many military men were returning from war. No doubt the theme of a disfigured veteran was very relative to many of them, and their families.

This is a very heartwarming tale. Some will think it very melodramatic and sentimental, but I find it very endearing and sweet. Young's character is very arrogant and rude to begin with, then becomes very bitter after the accident. He plays both extremes quite well. It is interesting to see these characters as they are transformed by the very powerful effects of love.

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10/10

All Time Favorite Romance

movie-1739 June 2005

My wife and I love this movie. There is an ugly duckling in all of us but the right person can bring out the swan. This movie brings that out so well. I am my wife's prince charming and she is my Princess. This movie helps us remember that after 15 years of marriage. In the movie we are taken away from our everyday lives to a quiet mysterious cottage. Couples have visited the cottage for hundreds of years, and gone away mysteriously changed and in love. The film creates a strange atmosphere that takes you into the thoughts and feelings of two lonely people. We then witness their magical transformation into happy beautiful people. No matter how hard the outside world tries to take that happiness away from this happy couple, the cottage protects their romance.

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9/10

Behaviors raised to the sublime

mcgarig111 August 2002

This insightful story of a young lady (Dorothy Maguire), and her family such as it is, and a man (Robert Young) and his family, such as they are, get its center from the character of a blind neighbor (Herbert Marshal) who knows them all. The girl, retiring, awkward and shy lives in "the enchanted cottage" with its owner, an older lady (Mildred Natwick) whose financial situation forces her to rent the cottage out. The man played by Robert Young was facially disfigured in WW II and returns from the war directly to the cottage, to hide from his former rich and dashing life as the fine son of a wealthy family, and his former fiance (Spring Byington) all of whom can not initially accept his disfigurement when he returns from the war to seek utter solace in the obscure locale of the enchanted cottage. The relationship between Maguire and Young has many halting and awkward moments as they each come to grips with their own large difficulties. Yet one circumstance after another comes to help each of them to start to overcome their own problems by concentrating of the problems of the other.

But this viewer finds much more than a touching a powerful love story, as this film shows ever so clearly how the many powers of kindnesses and thoughtfullnesses, and the lesser powers of blunders and mistakes, come to spread and affect all the characters as they haltingly, yet steadily move past their own individual problems into the bright sunshines of brotherhood and lasting love.

This viewer also hopes that the strong and gently kind ways of the people in 1942-43 time period of the movie will once again flower in our now much more brash and brutal society, so that we may have a culture that is fitting and kind to the best in all of us. If the enormous task of making a movie was itself done to produce this one film, then certainly our people of today can learn the enduring lessons for themselves that are shown by the human behaviors, which are raised to the sublime in this film. Our men and women of the year 2002 could gain much for all of ourselves by seeing and giving thought to the clear and simple values portrayed in "The Enchanted Cottage". This film shows that much more enduring messages than crash and slash can be put profitably into a film.

(Now lets get up an effort to have "The Enchanted Cottage" returned to video availability, as it is currently available only on Turner Classic Movies - so watch that schedule and set your VCR to get this real gem for your life.

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10/10

Excellent

Patty-511 October 1998

This is without a doubt one of my all time favorite films though very few people I know have ever seen it. It is a story of true love as never seen before. If you have never seen it, make a point to do so. If you love romance films, you will love this one.

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8/10

An atmospheric film of great beauty.

robert-259-2895410 November 2013

Watching this film was a reminder why I love B&W films so much. They're a time capsule of a different time, similar to ours, but very much different at the same time. This film epitomized this feeling so well. Utilizing the talents of one of the most handsome leading men of the time, Robert Young, and pretty leading ladies, Dorothy McGuire, the producers had the wisdom of using these two actors in totally unconventional roles—as ugly people. Without this juxtaposition, however, the film wouldn't have had it's visual impact. Today, even the subject might be considered "politically incorrect," but happily that term hadn't been invented yet. It's a simple film, and that's the charm of it. I've watched it twice,and it's had the same emotional impact both times. It's a tender, old-fashioned, overly-sentimental movie, and perhaps wouldn't make a dime today... wherein lies it's true beauty.

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10/10

A Film That is Even True Today

whpratt131 January 2008

This is a great 1945 film starring Dorothy McGuire, (Laura Pennington) who is a rather homely gal who has found employment with Mrs. Abigal Minnett, (Mildred Natwick) who owns an old cottage and is a widow who lost her husband during the war. This cottage is famous for married couples spending their honeymoon there and they all write their names on panes of glass. Herbert Marshall, ( Major John Hillgrove ) is very interested in this Enchanted Cottage and is a major who lost his eyesight and enjoys visiting with Abigal and Laura. Robert Young, (Oliver Bradford) plays the role of a man who is going to get married and makes arrangements to spend his honeymoon in this cottage. However, Oliver is called for service in the Air Force and his marriage does not take place. This film was produced in 1945 and we still have the same problem with men returning from war and becoming handicapped and these men need the support and love of their loved ones. Great film.

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7/10

What love should really be about

lauraeileen8948 July 2005

In an age where men and women alike use plastic surgery to nip and tuck themselves into homogenized oblivion, "The Enchanted Cottage" is a nearly forgotten parable of what true beauty is and what love should really about. A simple story of a plain, lonely woman (Dorothy McGuire) and a deformed soldier (Robert Young) who seek refuge in a supposedly magic cottage made for newlywed couples. As their relationship grows, they gradually find each other beautiful in the other's eyes. This sweet little movie always puts a lump in my throat and will renew your belief in love. No matter what you look like, no matter what you think of yourself or how society judges you, there is someone out there who is meant for you and who finds you beautiful just the way you are. McGuire and Young are just superb and have a lot of chemistry. A must-see.

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9/10

Some people don't get the charm of this gem! SPOILERS*

ala-4947815 June 2017

Warning: Spoilers

Some reviewers are appalled by the fact that the characters are judged on their appearances but that is reality. It's something that occurs even in modern times. The person who feels they will never find love because they are too fat, too thin, not perfect in the eyes of society. That is what Laura is feeling.. This makes her quite shy and homely. Then there is Oliver the once popular socialite who in the outside world would have never even given Laura the time of day. The cottage brings them together and they share this mutual feeling of being lonely due to their appearance. I don't see this as something unrealistic or even disgusting as one reviewer stated. It's the way society is and it was worse in the older days. The division of classes and the fact that love is simply based on a physical attraction is shattered in this movie. The characters see beyond that once they fall in love. That is the key... They had already fallen in love before the change occurred in their eyes only.

The cinematography is so well done as is the direction. My favorite character is Mrs. Minnett who gives the tear jerker explanation that brings the story together.

This film for me expands on love.. I can see this also as the love a mother has for a child... Even when a child is grossly disfigured the Mother sees beyond that.. That see the child for who they are inside and the love of wanting to care for them forever. That's true love. Loving the person so much that their exterior always looks beautiful because their beautiful inside.

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9/10

Maybe I'm too cynical to be writing about this one...

AlsExGal13 February 2021

... because being homely is not something that is usually solved by magical fairy thinking. I would know. But I'll give it a whirl since this one is a fine example of filmmaking - great direction, fine acting, and that haunting score.

Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire) is a very homely girl who gets a job working as a maid in a cottage, employed by Mrs. Minnett (Mildred Natwick). Mrs. Minnett is an odd duck. She is kind to Laura, but she has a clock/calendar that is stopped dead in time in the year 1917, and she likes it that way. That was when her husband left for WWI, never to return. Laura was hired because Mrs. Minnett is renting out the cottage to a couple of honeymooners for several months and she'll need assistance. This is when Oliver Bradford (Robert Young) and his fiancee Beatrice arrive to look over the cottage. Laura is instantly smitten with Oliver, but knows this dashing fellow is taken and wouldn't notice she was alive if he wasn't. This is when WWII begins and the wedding plans are delayed while Oliver is deployed.

Laura knows she is homely, but there is a war on and she wants to do her part. She works in the kitchen at the local canteen when she has a night off. And then one night one of the matronly supervisors there, thinking she is doing a good deed, shoos Laura unwillingly out of the kitchen and on to the dance floor. Soldier after soldier starts to ask her to dance, sees her face, and then has to make some graceful exit like reaching to tie their shoes. Laura is mortified and runs home crying. This is where Mrs. Minnett says something odd. That people like herself and Laura should just hide away from the world. That they are not meant to mingle with other people. Great pep talk, huh? Making the girl a recluse at 20 something.

Time passes and Oliver is shot down, but he does not die, neither does he leave a good looking corpse. He is disfigured and his fiancee screams in horror at the first sight of him. So Oliver retreats to the cottage, because I guess he figures everybody else in that house is escaping from reality, so why not.

But Oliver's parents keep coming by demanding to see him, determined to make him an object of pity. Laura loved Oliver before the accident and loves him now, though always in silence. Oliver decides to drive his parents and his obligated fiancee away for good by marrying Laura. His proposal ? "It can't mean that much to you." Wow, what a way to sweep a girl off her feet!

Without spoiling it, this film actually does have a happy ending that is not preposterous. It is the reason that the film has Dorothy McGuire in the leading role as a homely girl - using makeup and lighting - because they need her to NOT be a homely girl towards the end. Let me also say that Herbert Marshall is terrific as a blind composer who lost his sight during WWI, but has a great way of reading people. Highly recommended and completely different. This would make a great double bill with "Shallow Hal". They both have basically the same theme, although in completely different times, locations, and cultural situations.

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9/10

You're driftwood, floating underwater.

hitchcockthelegend28 April 2019

The Enchanted Cottage is directed by John Cromwell and adapted to the screen by Herman Mankiewicz and DeWItt Bodeen from the play of the same name by Arthur Wing Pinero. It stars Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Herbert Marshall and Mildred Natwick. Music is by Roy Webb and cinematography by Ted Tetzlaff.

Once a play it had been adapted to the silent screen previously in 1924, latterly it would also be adapted to radio plays and remade on the big screen in 2016. Pinero's literate leanings for message fantastical is ripe for transference to the visual form, and thus with a slight itch about moral standpoints, this filmic version is a pure heart warming delight.

Story finds McGuire as a homely house maid type and Young as a disfigured and disabled GI, who meet at the cottage where McGuire works and in spite of their perceived ugliness see only beauty in each other. Could the romantic spirit of the cottage really make them see what others do not?

Lets get over that itch to scratch first and foremost. Without doubt this is morally dubious when McGuire's character is believed to have a self-conscious handicap because she's dowdy? Really? Of course the daft irony is no matter how they dress her - clothes and hair - or how they light her (Tetzlaff does great work in this), McGuire is still beautiful. So you have to forgive this out dated piece of nonsense. That aside though...

The story sells itself, pure of heart in pitching two people on a course of love, all set to a dreamy back drop of the quaint cottage which appears to have a magical glow to it. As the romantic majesty of Webb's musical score floats elegantly over the tale, we are given a story that's fantastical to the point where it could have ended up as a Twilight Zone episode later on down the line - which is definitely meant as a high compliment.

This is escapist beauty, a pic for those who have ever loved, or in search of love, lost love and etc, but mainly for those who don't quite have the hope for human company to lift the spirits, those who feel for whatever reason they don't fit in society. This is wistful magic that's superbly performed by the four principal actors, each guided with skilled hands by Cromwell (The Prisoner of Zenda). Enchanting is in the title and that's exactly what this film is, so get in the right frame of mind and fall under its spell. 9/10

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One of my favorite older movies.

cooty-33 May 2000

This movie moved me the first time I saw it, I was 7 years old. I didn't really understand the plot, but I knew it made me feel so happy inside. Now that 30 have passed, I can see the beauty in this story of love and enchantment. It brings hope to anyone that feels they will never find that special someone. For those of us that have found that special someone, then when you watch this movie, you can be reminded that though there are trying times in every relationship, you can always find that one thing that made you fall in love to begin with.

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10/10

Fabulous!

allysonhathcock27 October 2019

If you want to enter an truly magical world, this is the film for you. It's eerie yet romantic. Gothic yet modern. Ethereal yet blatantly real. Dorothy Maguire is one of the greatest actresses ever and this is one of her best. Robert Young is equally wonderful in the film, as are Herbert Marshall and Mildred Natwick. But the real star is the director, John Cromwell, who balances this film with equal parts haunt and romance.

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