Poster from TMDB
OverviewAI-generated
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Robert Bassler. The screenplay was written by Arthur Laurents, based on a work by Mary Jane Ward. The cast includes Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, and Celeste Holm. The film was shot in black-and-white with cinematography by Leo Tover and music composed by Alfred Newman.
The movie was distributed by 20th Century Studios and is available via video on demand. It has been nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound and was named a Top Ten Film by the National Board of Review. The film also received a Bodil Award for Best American Film.
The runtime is 108 minutes. The plot involves themes of schizophrenia and memory loss within an asylum setting. Critical reception includes a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 76. Audience scores include a 7.5 rating on IMDb and a 7.1 average on TMDb.
Synthesized by Vinony from 44 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, OMDb, IMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.1Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions and unable to even recognize her husband, Robert, she is treated by Dr. Mark Kik, who is determined to get to the root of her mental illness. As her treatment progresses, flashbacks depict events in Virginia's life that may have contributed to her instability.
Cast
- Olivia de Havilland as Virginia Cunningham
- Mark Stevens as Robert Cunningham
- Leo Genn as Mark Kik
- Celeste Holm as Grace
- Glenn Langan as Dr. Terry
- Helen Craig as Nurse Davis
Themes
- chicago, illinois
- schizophrenia
- asylum
- flashback
- memory loss
- black and white
- based on memoir or autobiography
- mental illness
- doctor patient relationship
- electro shock
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Ratings
IMDb
7.6/10
8,803 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
100%
Metacritic
76/100
- Year
- 1948
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery
- Rated
- Approved
- Awards
- Won 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 10 nominations total
via OMDb · IMDb
Key facts
- Directed by
- Anatole Litvak
- Screenplay by
- Frank Partos , Millen Brand , Arthur Laurents (uncredited)
- Based on
- The Snake Pit , by Mary Jane Ward
- Produced by
- Robert Bassler , Anatole Litvak, Darryl F. Zanuck
- Starring
- Olivia de Havilland , Mark Stevens , Leo Genn , Celeste Holm
- Cinematography
- Leo Tover
- Edited by
- Dorothy Spencer
- Music by
- Alfred Newman
- Production company
- 20th Century-Fox
- Distributed by
- 20th Century-Fox
- Release date
- November 13, 1948 ( 1948-11-13 )
- Running time
- 108 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $3.8 million
- Box office
- $10 million
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Genre
- drama film
- Country of origin
- United States
- Original language
- English language
- Director
- Anatole Litvak
- Cast member
- Mary Treen
- Composer
- Alfred Newman
- Producer
- Robert Bassler
- Production company
- 20th Century Studios
- Cinematographer
- Leo Tover
- Duration
- 108
- FilmAffinity ID
- 776021
- Distribution format
- video on demand
- Image
- The Snake Pit (1948) trailer 2.jpg
Show 13 more facts
- publication date
- 1948-01-01
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Sound
- film editor
- Dorothy Spencer
- Commons gallery
- The Snake Pit
- title
- The Snake Pit
- color
- black-and-white
- distributed by
- Netflix
- production designer
- Lyle R. Wheeler
- Commons category
- The Snake Pit
- after a work by
- Mary Jane Ward
- assessment
- Bechdel test
- set in environment
- psychiatric hospital
- review score
- 100%
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Snake Pit is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick. Based on Mary Jane Ward's 1946 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, the film recounts the tale of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there.
The novel was adapted for the screen by Frank Partos and Millen Brand, in screen credits order, and Arthur Laurents (uncredited).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The Snake Pit” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.