The Snake Pit
| The Snake Pit | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
| Produced by | Robert Bassler Anatole Litvak Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by | Millen Brand Arthur Laurents (uncredited) Frank Partos Mary Jane Ward (novel) |
| Starring | Olivia de Havilland Mark Stevens Leo Genn Celeste Holm |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover |
| Editing by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 4, 1948 |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak.[1][2] The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.
The film was adapted by Millen Brand, Arthur Laurents (uncredited) and Frank Partos from the novel by Mary Jane Ward.
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[edit] Plot
Virginia Cunningham (Olivia de Havilland) is an apparently schizophrenic inmate at a mental institution called the Juniper Hill State Hospital. She hears voices and seems so out of touch with reality that she doesn’t recognize her husband Robert (Mark Stevens).
Dr. “Kik” (Leo Genn) works with her, and flashbacks show how Virginia and Robert met a few years earlier in Chicago. He worked for a publisher who rejected her writing, and they bumped into each other again in the cafeteria. Occasionally she continued to drop by the cafeteria so they get to know each other.
Despite their blossoming romance, Virginia eventually abruptly leaves town without explanation. Robert moves to New York and bumps into her again at the Philharmonic. After she provides a loose excuse for her absence and departure, they pick up where they left off, though she remains evasive and avoids his desire for marriage. Eventually, Virginia brings up the possibility of marriage. They go ahead and marry on May 7, but Virginia acts erratically again. She can’t sleep and loses touch with reality, as she feels it’s November and snaps when Robert corrects her. The rest of the film follows her therapy. Dr. Kik puts her through shock treatment and other forms of treatment including hypnotherapy. Dr. Kik wants to get to the “causes of her unconscious rejection.” The film includes many flashbacks, including her earlier failed engagement to Gordon (Leif Erickson) as well as childhood concerns. The film shows her progress and what happens to her along the way.
The mental hospital is organized on a spectrum of "levels." The better a patient gets, the higher level she is able to achieve. Virginia moves to the highest level, but there she encounters Nurse Davis (Helen Craig) who is the only cruel nurse in the movie. Jealous of Dr. Kik's interest in Virginia, (purely professional), and in her eyes excessive concern, Nurse Davis is so severe with Virginia that she goads her into an outburst which results in her being expelled from first level in a straight jacket. We then see Virginia demoted to what we are led to believe is the lowest level. Despite this setback, Dr Kik's excellent care continues to improve Virginia's mental state.
Of special note, when Virginia realizes that she is recovering, there is a dance social including both male and female patients. Virginia meets and dances with Dr. Kik. We then see and hear a moving rendition of the song "Going Home" (from the second movement of Dvorak's 9th symphony, New World Symphony) sung by Jan Clayton, who ironically received no billing despite her stellar performance. The patients stop dancing. Everyone gathers to hear this song with its poignant lyrics including such words as "mother's there 'spectin' me, father's waitin' too." Spontaneously they all begin to sing knowing that many of them will never go home. At the end of the movie, Virginia's husband Robert comes to take her home. As they leave on the Juniper Hill State Hospital bus, we hear the melody again.
[edit] Accolades
It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Recording (Thomas T. Moulton), and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Olivia de Havilland), Best Director, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay.[3]
The film also won the International Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1949, where it was cited for "a daring inquiry in a clinical case dramatically performed."[4]
[edit] Cast
| Actor/Actress | Character |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Celia Lovsky | Gertrude |
| Frank Conroy | Dr. Jonathan Gifford |
| Minna Gombell | Miss Hart |
| Betsy Blair | Hester |
[edit] Production
Gene Tierney was the first choice to play Virginia Stuart Cunningham, but was replaced by Olivia de Havilland when Tierney became pregnant.
Director Anatole Litvak insisted upon three months of grueling research. He demanded that the entire cast and crew accompany him to various mental institutions and to lectures by leading psychiatrists. He didn't have to convince Olivia de Havilland. She threw herself into the research with an intensity that surprised even those who knew her best. She watched carefully each of the procedures then in vogue, including hydrotherapy and electric shock treatments. When permitted, she sat in on long individual therapy sessions. She attended social functions, including dinners and dances with the patients. In fact, when, after the film's release, columnist Florabel Muir questioned in print whether any mental institution actually "allowed contact dances among violent inmates," she was surprised by a telephone call from de Havilland, who assured her she had attended several such dances herself.[5] Much of the film was filmed in the Camarillo State Mental Hospital in California.
[edit] Censorship
The British censor required a foreword added to the movie that explained to the audience that everyone in the movie was an actor — and that conditions in British hospitals were unlike those portrayed in the film.[4]
[edit] Impact
The film led to changes in the conditions of mental institutions in the United States. In 1949, Herb Stein of Daily Variety wrote "Wisconsin is the seventh state to institute reforms in its mental hospitals as a result of The Snake Pit.[6]
Publicity releases from 20th Century Fox claimed that twenty-six of the then forty-eight states had enacted reform legislation because of the movie. This is a very difficult claim to verify because few of the bills introduced, regulations changed or funding increases implemented specifically mentioned The Snake Pit as a motivating factor.[6]
[edit] Adaptations to Other Media
The Snake Pit was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on the April 10, 1950 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater, with de Havilland reprising her film role.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Variety film review; November 3, 1948, page 11.
- ^ Harrison's Reports film review; November 6, 1948, page 179.
- ^ "The 21st Academy Awards (1949) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/21st-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ^ a b Clooney, Nick (November 2002). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. New York: Atria Books, a trademark of Simon & Schuster. p. 143. ISBN 0-7434-1043-2.
- ^ Clooney, p. 141
- ^ a b Clooney, p. 144
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Snake Pit |
- The Snake Pit at the Internet Movie Database
- The Snake Pit at the TCM Movie Database
- The Snake Pit at AllRovi
- The Snake Pit at BehaveNet Movies, Drugs and Psychiatry
- Review of The Snake Pit at TVGuide.com
