The Enchanted Cottage (NR, 1945)

In THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE, Mrs. Minnett (Mildred Natwick), a widow, owns a small cottage that she rents out to honeymoon couples. Some people believe there is a magic about the house that keeps the couples safe and happy. Laura (Dorothy McGuire) is a plain girl who comes to work in the house. Oliver (Robert Young), rich and careless, comes to see the house and reserves it for his honeymoon. But before his wedding, he is seriously injured. He comes to the cottage alone and bitter, to retreat from the world. Wanting to shield himself from his family and his former fiancee, he impulsively proposes to Laura, who accepts, but does not tell him that she loves him. He is so self-absorbed that he does not even wonder why she agrees. But the honeymoon cottage works its enchantment, and they realize that they have become beautiful and whole, and deeply in love. But when Oliver's family arrives, they cannot see the transformation. Oliver and Laura are crushed, until they realize that the enchantment was love, and that it would always make them beautiful to one another.

Like the magic in the story, this movie is only for believers, but there are many cynics who have a special affection for what can only be called its enchantment. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery penned in The Little Prince, "It is only with the heart that once can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Many children will not have the patience for this story, but others will find it one of their favorite films.

Studio: RKO
Director: John Cromwell
Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Herbert Marshall, Robert Young
Genre: Classic
Run time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release: February 2, 1945
DVD release: February 16, 2006
MPAA Rating: NR