With the eyes of love (1945)

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Movie
German title With the eyes of love
Original title The Enchanted Cottage
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1945
length 91 minutes
Age rating FSK not specified
Rod
Director John Cromwell
script DeWitt Bodeen
Herman J. Mankiewicz
production Harriet Parsons
music Roy Webb
camera Ted Tetzlaff
cut Joseph Noriega
occupation

With the Eyes of Love (OT: The Enchanted Cottage ) is an American literary film adaptation from 1945, directed by John Cromwell . The plot is based on Arthur Wing Pinero's 1923 romance The Enchanted Cottage . Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young as well as Herbert Marshall , Mildred Natwick and Spring Byington are the leading characters .

action

Laura Pennington is inconspicuous and has been severely disadvantaged by nature in terms of her appearance. Laura is smart and very quickly feels what is going on in other people, you could also say that she has a sensitive soul. When Laura looks for a job with the widow Minnett, she hopes to find a place there that can become her home. Mrs. Minnett, who has been through a lot, likes Laura right away and keeps her with her. Abigail Minnett rents the side wing of a fort , which burned down except for this side wing more than two hundred years ago, to newlywed couples who were as happy as possible, at least that was tradition in the past. So did her husband, who died in the First World War and whose death she never got over.

With a young couple who are about to get married, she can use Laura's help. Oliver Bradford and his fiancée Beatrice Alexander arrive at the widow Minnett's cottage on the same day as Laura. A strange magic emanates from the house, which everyone can feel, except for the rather superficial bride, on whom every magic ricochets off. It is not given to her to absorb the special flair of this house. She is only extremely upset when, when her fiancé Oliver tries to add their names to the many that are already in the lead-frame window, the stone breaks out of her ring. For the widow Minnett this is a sign that the young couple will suffer a hard blow of fate. and thats the way it is. Oliver is drafted into the Air Corps, which has dire consequences for him and the marriage has to be postponed.

Jump in time: Mrs. Minnett receives a telegram from Oliver Bradford; he wants to rent the house indefinitely. This time he comes alone. Laura's joy to see Oliver again is sincere, but she also senses a strange unease, as if she knew that something has changed. When she meets Oliver in the semi-darkness, she sees Oliver's face badly disfigured by a scar in the briefly flickering light of a match. When looking into his eyes in a matter of seconds, she feels the terrible despair that drives him, almost as if it were her own. She knows this fear, and the looks of people, because it affects her too.

Oliver instinctively knows that it is not pity what Laura feels for him, but honest sympathy. Another friend of his is the blind pianist John Hillgrove, who perceives people very differently from what sighted people do. Laura and Oliver grow closer every day during these weeks of his stay in the house. But then Oliver receives a letter from his parents that unsettles him so much that he needs a stop and asks Laura to become his wife. Laura loves him and accepts the proposal, although she knows that in a way he only clings to her because she is also one of the "disadvantaged". It is also important to her, together with him , not to lose the atmosphere of the old enchanted house, the walks through the forest and everything that goes with it . The togetherness with Oliver is precious to Laura, she never knew anything like that before.

On the day of the wedding, Oliver realizes how important Laura has become to him and that he cannot and does not want to be without her anymore. Laura, on the other hand, pains that she is ugly and that the man she loves will never see her the way she so desires. She seeks and finds refuge in music. When Chopin's nocturnal sounds, both of them sense that something is happening to them that is transforming them. The intimacy of this wonderful music makes you suddenly see yourself with different eyes, with the eyes of love. Even the brief appearance of Oliver's parents, who are tactless and completely insensitive, cannot change anything. Oliver has been able to regain his self-confidence through Laura's love and Laura stays by his side. Both look at each other with the eyes of love, because if you really love someone, they are beautiful.

Production, publication, background

The film was shot from the beginning of October to December 2, 1944. It is a RKO Radio Pictures film . It premiered in the USA on February 15, 1945. The film opened in Germany in July 1946 and in Austria on August 9, 1946.

The DVD has only been released in the original English version: The Enchanted Cottage Archive Collection by Warner Brothers.

With the Eyes of Love was Dorothy McGuire's second film work and, as in her debut film Claudia from 1943, Robert Young was her film partner again. John Cromwell resorted to a trick to make Dorothy McGuire appear differently on the viewer. If she was seen through the eyes of others, she wore ill-fitting clothes, unfavorable hairdos and was completely without make-up. But if she is seen through the eyes of love, the clothes fit perfectly and the hairstyle and make-up also contributed to a different image. Costume designer Edward Stevenson created identical clothing for Dorothy McGuire, once ill-fitting, once perfectly fitting.

reception

criticism

“At first it is only pity that connects the inconspicuous woman and the aviator, disfigured by war injuries. After the marriage, however, deeper affection releases the bitter couple from external and internal isolation. Despite a few inconsistencies, a love film that entertains appealingly with its discrete presentation, imaginative image guidance and solid staging. "

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

Roy Webb was in 1946 with his music for this film in the category "Best Music in a Drama" for an Oscar nomination, but had a disadvantage compared to Miklós Rózsa , the trophy with his music for the thriller fight I order you (Spellbound) won .

Further films

The story of Arthur Wing Pinero was first filmed under the title The Enchanted Cottage in 1924. May McAvoy played the role of Laura Pennington and Richard Barthelmess the role of Oliver Bashforth.

Another film adaptation within the TV series Lux Video Theater : The Enchanted Cottage dated September 29, 1955, season 6, episode 1. Teresa Wright played the role of Laura Pennington, Dan O'Herlihy played Oliver Bradford.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Enchanted Cottage DVD Collection from Warner Brothers adS tcm.com
  2. ^ The Enchanted Cottage at TCM - Turner Classic Movies
  3. ↑ With the eyes of love. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 30, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used