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
An unusual movie for the times of 1948.
"The Snake Pit" is based on a true story written by Mary Jane Ward in the hopes it would bring to the attention of the people, the horrors that a person faced in a mental institution at the time, pre-1948. The character, Virginia, was based on Miss Ward's own experience in a mental hospital. Even though the film was nominated for various Oscars, it only won for the musical score. I think that was probably because at the time mental illness was considered taboo. Olivia deHavilland acted the character of Virginia brilliantly as did everyone else in the film and Betsy Blair in her portrayal of Hester looked like she was completely and totally beyond help. Just look at her eyes. You will see what I mean. To this very day, I think it is the most haunting and most accurate of all films that have been released on the treatment of emotional disorders. I think all characters were portrayed as Mary Jane Ward wanted them to be portrayed, as I studied her book and watched the film while in high school in the early 1960's. Great book and a great film not afraid to show the abuse by certain medical personnel.
helpful•822
- julianhwescott
- Mar 19, 2001
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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