The Snake Pit (1948)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Frank Partos (screenplay) and
Millen Brand (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 November 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Married and in Love . . . with a Man She Didn't Know or Want!

Plot:

Virginia Cunningham finds herself in a state insane asylum...and can't remember how she got there. In flashback...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Fair | Marriage Proposal | Match | Shock Treatment

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Olivia de Havilland	...	Virginia Stuart Cunningham
Mark Stevens	...	Robert Cunningham
Leo Genn	...	Doctor Mark Kik
Celeste Holm	...	Grace
Glenn Langan	...	Doctor Terry
Helen Craig	...	Nurse Davis
Leif Erickson	...	Gordon
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Greer
Lee Patrick	...	Asylum Inmate
Howard Freeman	...	Dr. Curtis
Natalie Schafer	...	Mrs. Stuart
Ruth Donnelly	...	Ruth
Katherine Locke	...	Margaret
Frank Conroy	...	Dr. Jonathan Gifford
Minna Gombell	...	Miss Hart

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #12490)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Much of the film was shot in actual wards at Camarillo State Mental Hospital in California.

Quotes:

Mrs. Greer: Good afternoon, my dear. I don't think I've had the pleasure of seeing you here before.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: I'm Virginia Cunningham. I came from Five.
Mrs. Greer: Nobody comes to One from Five. Even I had to spend a few days in Two before coming here. And I, my dear, have money.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: That must be convenient.
Mrs. Greer: My husband, Mr. Greer, is very wealthy. I have more jewels than I can possibly wear. You, of course, are a charity patient?
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Oh, no. It so happens that my husband, Mr. Cunningham, is very wealthy. My diamonds simply weigh me down.
Mrs. Greer: I have the Hope Diamond!
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: I have the Hopeless Emerald! It carries the Cunningham curse. You've probably read about it.
Mrs. Greer: Mr. Greer...
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Your husband?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Hole in One (2004)

Soundtrack:

Going Home

A fine film, it keeps your attention throughout.

This film is one of those rare films which doesn't bore me for a second. It has lots of twists into mental illness, yet seems very believable. Great acting throughout.