I am 74 and I have seen this movie at least 50 times. This is one of the very best feelgood movies there is, it is full of empathy, love, hurt and yet leaves you with a dream come true. My dream like Laura came true. I was a very large women and late in life met my Marine and married and we had our. Outage, you will love this movie I am sure,

Directed by John Cromwell, with a screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen and Herman J. Mankiewicz that was based on a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, this slightly above average romance drama stars Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Herbert Marshall, Mildred Natwick, and Spring Byington (among others). The film's Score was nominated for an Academy Award, representing the last Oscar nomination for Roy Webb.Herbert Marshall plays Major John Hillgrove, a blind pianist (due to injuries received as a pilot during World War I) who recalls this story in flashback:Laura Pennington (McGuire) was a homely young woman who found employment working for Mrs. Abigail Minnett (Natwick) when the war widow housekeeper needed a maid to help put and keep her cottage in order for a young 'about to be married' couple that wanted to rent it. The cottage, thought to be haunted, was really an enchanted one in Laura's eyes, the only part of a much larger castle-sized estate that remained and used to be rented exclusively to honeymoon couples. Mrs. Minnett discontinued the practice when her husband was killed in the war some 24 years earlier. Oliver Bradford (Young) had discovered the cottage, begged and convinced Mrs. Minnett to rent it to him, and his bride-to-be Beatrice Alexander (Hillary Brooke). Laura tells Oliver about the cottage's history and shows him where the newlyweds had etched their names on a window. However, pilot Oliver is called to fight World War II before the wedding.Oliver returns to the cottage alone one year later, after being injured and scarred, his face and emotionally, and crippled during the war. He wants to avoid all human contact, especially with Beatrice, his mother Violet (Byington) and his stepfather Freddy Price (Richard Gaines). However, he gets to know Laura, who's still living there having been earlier embarrassed at a canteen when no one wanted to dance with her; she's kind to him, understanding what it is to be ugly. Oliver is also befriended by John, who gets about with the aid of his nephew Danny (Alec Englander). In time, Oliver and Laura grow close and even marry, out of convenience, but their relationship quickly grows into true love, one that transform their views of one another into a belief that they've both become beautiful. They share this remarkable occurrence with John who, based on their description of Mrs. Minnett's reaction, understands the situation. He tells them to 'go with it', steal the moment and enjoy their good fortune.Unfortunately, both learn the truth of the matter later, when Violet and Freddy come for a visit and Oliver's mother can't help but express her pity for them both, despite John's prior preparation, warnings, and pleadings. There has been no physical transformation (something which would have been readily obvious if the couple had been touching one another, right?), though Mrs. Minnett was inspired to live in the present. But, whereas John had assumed that this information would have been the couple's undoing, it doesn't affect them. Both realize that the real miracle is their love, and they scratch their names on the window. The final scene, back in 'present' times, shows John playing the piano at a party; he'd been waiting for the Bradfords to arrive. Oliver and Laura get there, but they stop and kiss at the door before entering (and the film ends before they do).

I liked this movie a bunch. Not sure why this is supposed to be such a rare occurrence that when people fall in love their entire aura, persona, appearance completely changes in an instant. And this is not just for lovers, it also happens with close friends, professional and even casual acquaintances. Apologies folks but seeing beauty as a result of uplifting fine inner qualities is not a new concept or one to be forgiven.Enchantment is a veritable experience and most are very grateful to feel the warm envelopment of these most elevated moments. For most of us they are transient, the lucky few, a lifetime. I have never lost hope of this message because it has occurred to me many many times. It is one of the reasons I live for. I have only seen one other film that addresses this concept, "Winter's Tale" with Colin Farrel. Also, an enjoyable fantasy love theme.High recommend for hopeful romantics and those who see beyond their eyes.

This is a case of taking a fairy tale too far. The Enchanted Cottage delivers Dorothy McGuire as a "terrible ugly" spinster and Robert Young as a disfigured WWII pilot. Long story short: Scarface marries Spinster, after which their love transforms them, miraculously (lighting, cosmetics and the removal of fake scars), into beautiful people—a magical change that they attribute to the enchantment of living in a seaside cottage that has been the abode of generations of honeymooners.If the story stopped there, fine; it would be a fable with a proverbial message: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it lurches ahead, reaching for reality. When Mr. and Mrs. Scarface greet their public, it comes as a painful shock to them that they're still homely. You see, they only appear beautiful to each other– a situation which the audience is well prepared for because all the secondary characters have been sermonizing to them that ill-favored people really need to lower their expectations about life and love. Find other ways to be happy. You know. Take up hobbies. Spinster does woodcuts, for instance. Scarface considers collecting driftwood.The original playwright (Arthur Wing Pinero) and the filmmakers evidently have little if any faith in human nature. Their message is: You're either ugly or pretty, and no pretty person would ever love an ugly one. Being in love is like wearing rose-colored glasses, but that's because you love the whole person, as they are. Scars don't disappear; they just become unimportant.One wonders what Elaine Mason saw every day when she looked at her husband, Stephen Hawking.