![]() ![]() Minnett, the cottage owner/caretaker, and a blind veteran who are both eager to help them. It was a timely post-World War I play that sublimely looked at the horrors of war through Oliver, an injured veteran, and Laura, a painfully shy and unattractive young woman who meet at the cottage of the title. “The Enchanted Cottage: A Fable in Three Acts” was written in 1921 by British playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. * * * * Katharine Cornell pictured in a scene from the 1923 stage production of “The Enchanted Cottage.” It was time, then, to watch two other versions of “The Enchanted Cottage” that were made more than 90 years apart. Then I learned my beloved 1945 movie was a remake of a 1924 film that was based off a play. Hoping it was just a film with the same name, I watched the trailer and realized it was definitely a remake. It is the embodiment of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” not a phrase the modern world fully embraces judging by our preoccupation with youth serums, injections and anti-aging treatments.Ībout three years ago, a film called “The Enchanted Cottage” popped up on Amazon Prime. The black and white film is colored by shadows and candlelight, lending it a dreamy look that casts the viewer under a spell. It’s about a disfigured war veteran and “homely” young woman who heal together through the magic of a cottage. This enchanting story works through the lens of a fairy tale that is very much of a time gone by. Why that one of all movies? Why not “The Wizard of Oz,” “Casablanca” or another film so extraordinary or beloved that talk of a remake would be universally bashed? Why would I pick this lovely, but little film that isn’t well known except in classic movie circles? It’s so unabashedly sentimental and fantastical that it’s understandable if it’s too much for some, but on an emotional level, it was perfect for me. It’s not for everyone – especially in today’s cynical world. It seems to only be fair to give them a chance then – even if it takes you a while.įrom the first time I watched the 1945 film “The Enchanted Cottage,” I fell so deeply under its spell that I remember thinking it could never be remade. (Another version of “Jane Eyre”? Yes, please.) Sometimes they work – and work very well. I fought the idea until I realized that some of my favorite films are remakes. Similarly, The Lake House (2006) (2006) deals with an enchanted lake house lived in by two people who are separated by time.Many film fans wrestle with the topic of movie remakes. More recently, there is Somewhere in Time (1980) (1980) and The Love Letter (1998) (1998), both of which deal with a young man who becomes so enchanted with a woman from the past that he finds a way to time travel in order to meet her. In Claudia (1943) (1943), Dorothy McQuire and Robert Young are again paired with each other. Two movies that deal with lonely misfits finding love include Marty (1955) (1955) and Only the Lonely (1991) (1991). In Portrait of Jennie (1948) (1948), a man has an encounter with an enchanting young woman who also turns out to be a ghost. Muir (1947) (1947), similar in many ways to The Enchanted Cottage, except that it features a young widow falling in love with the ghost of an old sea captain who also inhabits the cottage she rents. The key word is 'enchanted'and not 'haunted.' As Laura describes it, haunted is 'restless, easy, afraid it's ugly' whereas enchanted is 'to be happy and gay and beauty.' With that in mind, viewers often recommend The Ghost and Mrs. Outside the house, a car pulls up, and Oliver and Laura, both looking fit and beautiful, walk toward the door, stopping first to kiss each other. The final scene ends as the movie begins, with Hillgrove playing piano to a room of guests. Oliver and Laura decide to write their names on the window with the other lovers who have lived there before them. Mrs Minnett ( Mildred Natwick) reminds them, so long as they look at each other with love, they will always be beautiful to each other. Realizing that their apparent transformation was due to the enchantment of the cottage and that no one else sees them as they see each other, Oliver and Laura come to accept themselves as they are. However, Violet doesn't get the gist of it and reacts in dismay when she sees the young couple. As Oliver and Laura change their clothes, John Hillgrove ( Herbert Marshall) attempts to warn them about Laura and Oliver's transformation. Not long after the wedding, Oliver's mother Violet ( Spring Byington) and stepfather Freddy Price ( Richard Gaines) come to visit. ![]()
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