IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
A plain maid and a wounded war veteran are transformed by their love for each other while residing in an enchanted honeymoon cottage.A plain maid and a wounded war veteran are transformed by their love for each other while residing in an enchanted honeymoon cottage.A plain maid and a wounded war veteran are transformed by their love for each other while residing in an enchanted honeymoon cottage.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Wally Albright
- Soldier at dance
- (uncredited)
Virginia Belmont
- Bit Role
- (uncredited)
Barbara Blair
- Mildred
- (uncredited)
Patti Brill
- Bit Role
- (uncredited)
Martha Holliday
- Bit Role
- (uncredited)
Nancy Marlow
- Bit Role
- (uncredited)
Sherman Sanders
- Dance Caller
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn 1973, it was announced that a remake would be made. According to Robert Young, the setting would be updated and Dorothy McGuire and he would be playing the parts of the housekeeper and blind pianist originally played by Mildred Natwick and Herbert Marshall. The idea fell through after McGuire watched a screening of the original at Young's invitation at the actor's home. She said that the film belonged to another period and that she did not want to go backward.
- GoofsAs Mr. Bradford is leading Major Hillgrove to the beach, there is a dog swimming in the ocean as Laura chats with Danny. The dog brings the stick to be thrown back into the water, and he is completely dry.
- Quotes
Laura Pennington: Oliver, we've never written our names - somehow I think they'd want us to.
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits, the principle actors are seen with their names superimposed over the shots. Dorothy McGuire is seen in her character's beautiful and then unattractive state; Robert Young is seen only in his normal, attractive state. This is interesting in that the story deals with both characters, not one, falling in love and seeing only one another's beauty, despite both of their unfortunate appearances.
- Alternate versionsAlso shown in computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in TCM Guest Programmer: Whoopi Goldberg (2007)
Featured review
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.
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.
- david-1976
- Dec 20, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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