Every month Turner Classic Movies (TCM) features outstanding classic films, of every genre showcasing some of the greatest names in film and television. This week I watched one of the best movies I have ever seen and one that I will not soon forget, The Enchanted Cottage.
The introduction to this film was provided for by Whoopi Goldberg, who states that The Enchanted Cottage has “always been one of her favorite all time films.” I totally agree with her. What a wonderful film this is. It is now on my list of top ten favorites.
The Enchanted Cottage is a romantic film starring Robert Young, Dorothy McGuire, and Herbert Marshall as the blind piano player. It is based on a play by Arthur Wing Pinero.
Oliver Bradford, played by Robert Young, is engaged to be married and on his wedding day receives orders to report for military duty. Oliver is a successful British pilot, a kind and generous man with a bright future. He puts off his marriage until his return. However, he is disfigured by war wounds at the start of World War II.
He returns home from the war and decides that he can no longer face his family and fiancée, played by Hillary Brooke. He then decides to isolate himself by renting a small New England coastal cottage owned by Mrs. Minnet (Mildred Natwick).There he meets Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire). Laura is a very homely, certainly unattractive, shy maid who works keeping the cottage in order. Although Laura lacks physical beauty, she is of fine character, honest, hardworking, kind, loving, and a very patient listener.
Oliver and Laura fall in love and are married. They totally refuse to see anyone, except for cottage owner and friend Mrs. Minnet and the blind piano player, who becomes a real friend to the couple—a man of kindness and wisdom.
The cottage now appears to take on a sort of mystical nature. Many happy couples were married and enjoyed their honeymoon at the cottage and their love for each other has stored up a great deal of positive, perhaps even magical energy, enabling the cottage to transform lives.
The cottage, and their love for each other, transform Oliver and Laura, so that they appear handsome and beautiful to one another. However, they soon discover that the magic works only between each other and is not shared by others or the audience. It is a truly remarkable and heartwarming film.
The depth of acting displayed by Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire is awesome. They go from ugly and disfigured, to attractive from one second to the next, depending on who is in the cottage. This is all done with acting and very little makeup. They cannot understand why the magic only works for them, but they decide to spend their remaining lives in the Enchanted Cottage.
This film is simply outstanding and really touched me. Love is real and wonderful things can happen when we love each other. That is the message of this film. Director John Cromwell did a smashing job on this movie and it is very progressive for the time period. It is a must see for young and old alike, one I will not soon forget.
