The Enchanted Cottage (1924)

There's a "National Silent Movie Day" in late September, and in each of the past two years that I've been in the new place with the technically unlimted cloud DVR, I've been able to record a bunch of silents off of TCM since they tend to pick stuff for the day that doesn't show up quite so often. This time around, one of those movies was a silent version of a movie that has a more famous sound remake: The Enchanted Cottage.

Richard Barthelmess stars as Oliver Bashforth. He fought in the Great War, like a lot of men, and returned home scarred for life, at least mentally; his physical injuries aren't scars but some sort of paralytic limp. Before the war, he was engaged to be married to lovely Beatrice, with the plan being that the two get married and continue to live their idle rich lifestyle happily ever after. But Oliver's injuries don't leave him very happy, while Beatrice fell in love with another man while Oliver was away.

But that's OK by Oliver. He doesn't want to force Beatrice to marry him in his current condition, so he goes off to a place where he can be alone and live out his days, this being the spare cottage on an estate. Of course, he's not the only one there, as there's another soldier recuperating from the war, Major Hargrove (Holmes Herbert), who was blinded in the war. There are also a lot of orphans there, and tending to the orphans is Laura (May McAvoy), who decided to make this her life's work because of how homely she is.

Now, even if you haven't seen the 1945 version, you can probably guess what happens next, which is that Oliver and Laura, having nobody else around, start seeing past each other's physical appearance, and find the inner beauty in each other. There's also a legend about the cottage being enchanted, which is part of why Oliver and Laura see not only inner beauty, but also external beauty not only in each other but themselves. With that in mind, they decide to get married and tell Oliver's family about the amazing recovery they've had.

Except that they're not really recovered, which Major Hargrove can see even without having to resort to running his hands over Laura's face (although he does that, too). How is Oliver's family going to react when they see him still unwell when he insists that he's better? Will Oliver and Laura ever be able to live anywhere outside the cottage, and will they be able to find true happiness?

This version of The Enchanted Cottage is well-enough made, although the material is based on a stage play, which presents a bit of a problem when trying to convert it to a silent film. Indeed, I think it would have been a bit easier to follow with dialogue. Barthelmess is capable if not the best actor out there, while McAvoy is suitably pretty after the transformation. I'm glad I saw the silent version of The Enchanted Cottage, but if I were going to recommend silent dramas to people not very into silents, I think there are other things I'd pick first.