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IMDbPro

The Snake Pit

  • 1948
  • Approved
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit (1948)
Trailer for this heart-stirring dramatic thunderbolt
Play trailer2:23
1 Video
79 Photos
DramaMystery

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

  • Director
    • Anatole Litvak
  • Writers
    • Frank Partos
    • Millen Brand
    • Mary Jane Ward
  • Stars
    • Olivia de Havilland
    • Mark Stevens
    • Leo Genn
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    8.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anatole Litvak
    • Writers
      • Frank Partos
      • Millen Brand
      • Mary Jane Ward
    • Stars
      • Olivia de Havilland
      • Mark Stevens
      • Leo Genn
    • 84User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 10 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Snake Pit
    Trailer 2:23
    Watch The Snake Pit

    Photos79

    "Snake Pit, The" Olivia De Havilland 1948 20th Century Fox **I.V.
    Olivia de Havilland and Celeste Holm in The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland, Celeste Holm, and Leo Genn in The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland and Celeste Holm in The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland and Mark Stevens in The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland and Celeste Holm in The Snake Pit (1948)
    The Snake Pit (1948)
    Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit (1948)
    The Snake Pit (1948)
    The Snake Pit (1948)
    The Snake Pit (1948)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Olivia de Havilland
    Olivia de Havilland
    • Virginia Stuart Cunningham
    Mark Stevens
    Mark Stevens
    • Robert Cunningham
    Leo Genn
    Leo Genn
    • Dr. Mark Kik
    Celeste Holm
    Celeste Holm
    • Grace
    Glenn Langan
    Glenn Langan
    • Dr. Terry
    Helen Craig
    Helen Craig
    • Nurse Davis
    Leif Erickson
    Leif Erickson
    • Gordon
    Beulah Bondi
    Beulah Bondi
    • Mrs. Greer
    Lee Patrick
    Lee Patrick
    • Asylum Inmate
    Howard Freeman
    Howard Freeman
    • Dr. Curtis
    Natalie Schafer
    Natalie Schafer
    • Mrs. Stuart
    Ruth Donnelly
    Ruth Donnelly
    • Ruth
    Katherine Locke
    Katherine Locke
    • Margaret
    Frank Conroy
    Frank Conroy
    • Dr. Jonathan Gifford
    Minna Gombell
    Minna Gombell
    • Miss Hart
    June Storey
    June Storey
    • Miss Bixby
    Lora Lee Michel
    Lora Lee Michel
    • Virginia - Age 6
    Damian O'Flynn
    Damian O'Flynn
    • Mr. Stuart
    • Director
      • Anatole Litvak
    • Writers
      • Frank Partos
      • Millen Brand
      • Mary Jane Ward
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Thirteen states changed their laws concerning mental health issues after the film's release.
    • 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. However, Virginia most likely received a new doll of the same kind when her father discovered the other one was no longer intact.
    • 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 reviews84

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    I'll tell you where it's gonna end, Miss Somerville... When there are more sick ones than well ones, the sick ones will lock the well ones up.
    The Snake Pit is directed by Anatole Litvak and adapted to screenplay by Frank Partos, Millen Brand and Arthur Laurents from the novel written by Mary Jane Ward. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson and Beulah Bondi. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Leo Tover.

    Olivia de Havilland plays Virginia Stuart Cunningham, and film chronicles Virgina's time and treatment in the Juniper Hill Mental Institution.

    "It was strange, here I was among all those people, and at the same time I felt as if I were looking at them from some place far away, the whole place seemed to me like a deep hole and the people down in it like strange animals, like... like snakes, and I've been thrown into it... yes... as though... as though I were in a snake pit..."

    It's still today one of the most potent and important screen explorations of mental illness and its treatment. Backed by an astonishing performance by de Havilland, Litvak and an initially sceptical Darryl F. Zanuck (20th Century Fox supremo), led the way in bringing to the masses the subject and to treat it with stark realism. Quite often it's harrowing as entertainment, with Virgina's fractured mind laid bare under duress of treatments now seen as antiquated.

    It's true enough to say that some of the story features simplistic motives and means, these come as a product of the time the picture was made. But with Litvak (Sorry, Wrong Number) and his principal crew members researching the subject thoroughly, the end result is an incredible blend of dramatic heartfelt suspense and rays of humanistic hope. As Virginia weaves her way through this maze of psychological discord, with flashbacks constantly adding layers to the character's make up, Litvak presents a fascinating portrait of asylum life and the people who resided there, both as patients and staff.

    Some scenes are brilliantly crafted, either as visual expansions of the story or as shards of light in a dark world. One sequence sees Litvak track "dancing" silhouettes on a wall, and to then do a pull away shot upwards to reveal Virginia in the snake pit, the impact is stark in its magnificence. Another sequence takes place at a dance for the patients, where a rendition of Antonín Dvorák's "Goin' Home" turns into something quite beautiful, a unison of profound optimism that strikes the heart like the calm after a storm.

    Leo Tover's (The Day The Earth Stood Still) crisp black and white photography is perfectly in sync with the material, and Newman's (Wuthering Heights) magnificent score bounces around the institution like a spectral observer. With de Havilland doing her tour de force, it could be easy to forget the great work of Genn and Stevens, the former is a bastion of assured calmness as Dr. Mark Kik, the latter as Virgina's husband Robert underplays it to perfection and he gives us a character to root for wholesale.

    It has to be viewed in the context of the era it was made, but its influence on future movies and awareness of mental health treatments in the real world should not be understated. A brilliant production that demands to be seen. 9/10
    helpful•10
    0
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Sep 12, 2013

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    FAQ8

    • What is 'The Snake Pit' about?
    • Is 'The Snake Pit' based on a book?
    • What does the title 'The Snake Pit' mean?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 13, 1948 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • German
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Die Schlangengrube
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 2, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century Fox
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $10,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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