The Enchanted Cottage (1945)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

DeWitt Bodeen (writer)
Herman J. Mankiewicz (writer)

Release Date:

10 September 1945 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The whole town WHISPERED about these two!

Plot:

A homely maid and a scarred ex-GI meet at the cottage where she works and where he was to spend his honeymoon prior to his accident...

Plot Keywords:

Cottage | Maid | Loneliness | Ugly Duckling | Pianist

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dorothy McGuire	...	Laura Pennington
Robert Young	...	Oliver Bradford
Herbert Marshall	...	Major John Hillgrove
Mildred Natwick	...	Mrs. Abigail Minnett
Spring Byington	...	Violet Price
Hillary Brooke	...	Beatrice Alexander
Richard Gaines	...	Frederick 'Freddy' Price
Alec Englander	...	Danny 'Taxi' Stanton
Robert Clarke	...	Marine Corporal
Eden Nicholas	...	Soldier

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #10513)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Mrs. Abigail Minnett: Do you know what loneliness is, real loneliness?
Laura Pennington: [Heavy with sadness] Yes.
Mrs. Abigail Minnett: I thought you would.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "A Fine Romance: A Trip to the Dentist (#2.2)" (1982)

Sweet People, Profound Message

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?