The Snake Pit (1948)

A detailed chronicle of a woman during her stay in a mental institution.

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Frank Partos (screen play), Millen Brand (screen play)

Stars:

Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olivia de Havilland	...	Virginia Stuart Cunningham
Mark Stevens	...	Robert Cunningham
Leo Genn	...	Dr. Mark Kik
Celeste Holm	...	Grace
Glenn Langan	...	Dr. 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

Storyline

Virginia Cunningham finds herself in a state insane asylum...and can't remember how she got there. In flashback, her husband Robert relates their courtship, marriage, and her developing symptoms. The asylum staff are not demonized, but fear, ignorance and regimentation keep Virginia in a state of misery, as pipesmoking Dr. Mark Kik struggles through wheels within wheels to find the root of her problem. Then a relapse plunges Virginia back into the harrowing 'Snake Pit'...

---

Plot Keywords:

three word title | mental patient | female mental patient | marriage | flashback | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

13 November 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Schlangengrube

Filming Locations:

Camarillo State Hospital, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ginger Rogers wrote that she turned down the lead in this film, as well as To Each His Own (1946), both of which Olivia de Havilland accepted. Olivia won an Oscar for "To Each His Own" and was nominated for this film. Rogers wrote: "It seemed Olivia knew a good thing when she saw it. Perhaps Olivia should thank me for such poor judgment".

---

Goofs

After the young Virginia smashes the head of the soldier doll (that reminds her of her father) into several pieces, she is later seen carrying the unbroken doll on the night of her father's death. The intact doll again appears in the apartment that she lives in as an adult.

---

Quotes

Robert Cunningham: Tell me what have you been doing all these months?
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Working 18 hours a day and being lonely 24.

---

Connections

Featured in Biography: Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker (1995)

---

Soundtracks

Overture
(1842) (uncredited)
from "Tannhäuser"
Composed by Richard Wagner
Played at a concert

User Reviews

As groundbreaking as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Snake Pit opened to deservedly rave reviews about the subject matter and Olivia DeHavilland's performance. She lost that year in the Oscar Sweepstakes to Jane Wyman's Johnny Belinda. That performance by Wyman was also groundbreaking and probably that and the fact that DeHavilland had won the year before for To Each His Own prevented her from copping the big prize that year. She did get the New York Film Critic's Award for The Snake Pit though.

Seeing her in the Snake Pit and the accolades she got must have been of great satisfaction to Olivia DeHavilland because of the fights she had to get roles other than a crinoline heroine.

In 1948 seeing stuff like electroshock was a real dose of reality to the movie going public. Today it's not used as much, back then it was new and considered a panacea for all that ails you.

I'm surprised that more reviewers haven't compared The Snake Pit to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Both were ground breaking films for their time and Jack Nicholson got his first Oscar for that. I guess the crazy act is always noticed by the Academy.

Leo Genn as Doctor "Kick" had one of the great speaking voices in the world. Besides DeHavilland, he's the best one in this. I can never tire of listening to him.

56 years later this film will still grab you and hold your attention.