The Enchanted Cottage

The lonely woman was obviously not attractive -- neither to the battle-scarred man -- nor to the audience. He, burned and scarred, was practically repulsive looking to everyone, including the audience. Once their characters began honestly interacting, however, the audience was allowed to begin to accept them as real, humble, and friendly people -- like themselves. Then, the clever director had the make-up crew begin to -- ever so slowly, practically imperceptively -- soften their features, making their formerly perceived homeliness/ugliness more and more transparent. Thus, as the characters began to fall more in love and began to see the other as the person they had so long sought after, so too, did the audience! Then the characters' true beauty became so apparent, so much as what each would have wanted the other to be, that we, audience and players alike, saw them as the most handsome people we had beheld -- in a moment to remember -- as I have these 61 years since I saw the film. I believe it is one of the most magic 'happenings' on film I've ever witnessed. It's so good to be able to recall that moment so vividly, it 'happened again!