IMDb RATING
7.6/10
8.4K
YOUR RATING
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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 10 wins & 9 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThirteen states changed their laws concerning mental health issues after the film's release.
- GoofsAfter 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker (1995)
Featured review
Breakdown
Hollywood in the forties was not exactly ready to deal with subjects such as the one depicted in "The Snake Pit". It must have taken a lot of courage to get this project started since it dealt with a serious problem of mental illness, something not mentioned in good company, let alone in a film that took the viewer into the despair the protagonist is experiencing.
Anatole Litvak, the director, got a tremendous performance from its star Olivia de Havilland. If there was anyone to portrait Virginia Stuart Cunningham, Ms. de Havilland was the right choice for it. The actress is the main reason for watching the movie, even after all these years.
The director was responsible for the realistic way in which this drama plays on screen. The scenes in the asylum are heart wrenching, especially the electro shock treatments Virginia undergoes. At the end, the kind Dr. Kik discovers a deeply rooted problem in Virginia's mind that was the cause for what she was experiencing.
Leo Genn is the other notable presence in the film playing Dr. Kik. He makes the best out of his role and plays well against the sickly woman he has taken an interest in helping. Mark Stevens is seen as Virginia's husband, the man that stood by his wife all the time. In smaller roles we see Lee Patrick, Natalie Schafer, Leif Erickson and Celeste Holm, and Betsy Blair.
"The Snake Pit" is a document about mental illness treated with frankness by Anatole Litvak and his team.
Anatole Litvak, the director, got a tremendous performance from its star Olivia de Havilland. If there was anyone to portrait Virginia Stuart Cunningham, Ms. de Havilland was the right choice for it. The actress is the main reason for watching the movie, even after all these years.
The director was responsible for the realistic way in which this drama plays on screen. The scenes in the asylum are heart wrenching, especially the electro shock treatments Virginia undergoes. At the end, the kind Dr. Kik discovers a deeply rooted problem in Virginia's mind that was the cause for what she was experiencing.
Leo Genn is the other notable presence in the film playing Dr. Kik. He makes the best out of his role and plays well against the sickly woman he has taken an interest in helping. Mark Stevens is seen as Virginia's husband, the man that stood by his wife all the time. In smaller roles we see Lee Patrick, Natalie Schafer, Leif Erickson and Celeste Holm, and Betsy Blair.
"The Snake Pit" is a document about mental illness treated with frankness by Anatole Litvak and his team.
helpful•582
- jotix100
- Aug 22, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Die Schlangengrube
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,000,000
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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