This was a remake of a silent film about men who returned from the great war with horrific injuries. RKO updated it to WWII, just as an end to the conflict was within reach. Robert Young is Oliver, a flyer who suffers facial scarring and paralysis of his left arm. He finds companionship with the shy, unattractive Laura (Dorothy McGuire) who cares for him as he comes to terms with his injuries.
Then they fall in love under the influence of the enchanted cottage, which makes them perceive each other as attractive. He glimpses Laura's inner beauty and she sees the man she distantly loved before the injury. Others don't share their illusion, but the lovers are protected by the cottage's mystical, lonely housekeeper (Mildred Natwick) and a blind neighbour, a composer played by Herbert Marshall.
Clearly, the studio pulled a lot of punches on Oliver and Laura's appearance. She is so unattractive, soldiers at a wartime dance recoil from her in horror. But she's just Dorothy McGuire without makeup. Oliver has a scar, but his twisted lip comes and goes. This is no horror film. It is a lush wartime romance which attempts to offer succour to the home-front waiting for its heroes to return, who may be changed from the men and women who went away. Who may be grieving their losses.
It is a lush Hollywood fantasy, conventionally scored by Roy Webb's nostalgic, wistful orchestration, with tasteful photography and visual effects. It's the most sentimental film imaginable, but it captures a kind of ethereal magic which makes it a much loved film, even though little known.