The Enchanted Cottage (1945)

Waste of time

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I am 74 and I have seen this movie at least 50 times. This is one of the very best feelgood movies there is, it is full of empathy, love, hurt and yet leaves you with a dream come true. My dream like Laura came true. I was a very large women and late in life met my Marine and married and we had our. Outage, you will love this movie I am sure,

So this is a movie about a woman so hideous that she's ostracized and shunned, and a man so disabled that his family plans to hire a live-in nurse and force him to live at home. Only instead of being ugly, the woman doesn't wear makeup, and instead of being crippled, the man has some kind of vague paralysis in one arm and a scar.There's this amazing scene where the guy's saying how this woman can't possibly understand what it's like to be so disfigured, but before he can finish he just looks at her shuts up, because of course she knows what it's like to be disabled! I mean, she's not wearing lipstick!This movie tries so hard to hammer in the idea that ugly (or disabled) people can only love other ugly (or disabled) people, and that attractive people will flee in terror from mild scars or uncombed hair. The movie teaches us that it's okay to love someone even if their hair isn't fashionable, but don't worry because the power of love will transform them into a supermodel (or in the case of this movie, someone who looks exactly the same but with thinner eyebrows). And if you have the misfortune to fall in love with someone who isn't 100% able-bodied, good news! Your imagination will magically heal their disability, allowing them to talk to others without shame! There's also a guy whose blindness has made him a saint, because if you're disabled you're only allowed to be bitter or a source of inspiration for the able-bodied.The direction and cinematography are both outstanding, I liked the score, the acting wasn't bad. But I can't remember the last time I watched something so totally disgusting, and I watch Troma movies.

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".

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.