Average Rating: 8.6/10
Reviews Counted: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Nov 4, 1948 Wide
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 2,368
"A woman loses her mind and is confined to a mental institution." That's the usual TV-listing encapsulation of The Snake Pit -- and like most such encapsulations, it only scratches the film's surface. Olivia de Havilland stars as an outwardly normal young woman, married to loyal, kindly Mark Stevens. As de Havilland's behavior becomes more and more erratic, however, Stevens comes to the sad conclusion that she needs professional help. She is sent to an overcrowded state hospital for treatment --
Nov 4, 1948 Wide
Jun 1, 2004
All Critics (8) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (0) | DVD (8)
This remains one of the best screen explorations of mental illness and its treatment.
As one of Hollywood's first "serious" chronicles of life in an asylum, the film is uneven, containing some intelligent observations but also lurid sequences and simplistic psychological explanations.
It's entertaining enough in a hysterical sort of way, even if it never matches up to the excesses of Fuller's later Shock Corridor.
If the movie set a gold standard, this Fox Studio Classics DVD only gets the bronze.
For the audience of today, the primary draw of the picture is watching Olivia de Havilland deliver a particularly terrifying performance.
An underrated gem. It's all about the performance and de Havilland's is utterly brilliant!
January 21, 2009
Super Reviewer
Olivia de Haviland gives a brilliant performance as Virginia Stuart Cunningham, a young woman committed to a mental institution after a "nervous breakdown". This is one of the first flims to deal with mental illness on a serious adult level, and it is sometimes sad and sometimes harrowing to watch. Virginia spends
September 12, 2007Super Reviewer
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