The Snake Pit Movie Review 1948

One of the first films to compassionately explore mental illness and its treatment. Following an emotional collapse Virginia (de Havilland) is placed in a mental institution by her husband, Robert (Stevens). The severity of her depression causes her sympathetic doctor (Genn) to try such treatments as electric shock, hydrotherapy, and drugs, along with the psychoanalysis which gradually allows her to accept her fears and make her recovery. Tour-de-force performance by de Havilland. Based on the novel by Mary Jane Ward.

Distribution

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Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 108 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Screenplay

Frank Partos, Millen Brand

Cast

Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson, Beulah Bondi

Cinematography

Leo Tover

Director

Anatole Litvak

Music

Alfred Newman

Producer

Robert Bassler, Anatole Litvak, 20th Century-Fox

Awards

Oscars 1948: Sound; N.Y. Film Critics 1948: Actress (de Havilland).