Movies have the power to change thought. Consider that for a second. They have the ability to change the way we look at the world, at the people in it, and at the institutions we have put into place. Don’t believe me? Consider the 1948 Best Picture nominee The Snake Pit, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Mary Jane Ward. The following year after its release, news outlets were reporting that many states had instituted reforms in their mental hospitals as a result of that film. That would soon be added upon by Twentieth Century-Fox, who would claim that more than half of the states in the United States had enacted reform legislation because of the movie.
On top of all that, when the film was in release in Europe, it was required to have a disclaimer before it stating that mental hospitals in the UK were not like this, lest the general public get upset thinking their mentally ill patients were being treated as such. This was a sore topic that the UK was already addressing at the time, and they felt the general public would be appalled if they believed this was how things were happening in their country.
More than even that, though, the film got into the public mind that people committed to asylums were still people and deserved to be treated with kindness and care; that they were still human beings and capable of feelings just like everyone else. In the film, we see both kinds of care. We see doctors and nurses that really care for their patients, and we see some that are cold and distant, having little patience for those they are charged with taking care of. We don’t see anything on the level of Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but we definitely see nurses that do not have empathy for those committed to their charge.
The film opens up in a way designed to deliberately be confusing. It opens on Virginia Cunningham (Olivia de Havilland), committed to the Juniper Hill State Hospital though she doesn’t know why. She hears voices in her head and seems out of touch with reality to the point that she doesn’t even recognize her husband, Robert (Mark Stevens). She is under the care of Dr. Kik (Leo Genn), a kind man who doesn’t prescribe to the notion that one treatment works for all patients and is utilizing many different kinds of treatments to try and get to the bottom of what is causing her mental illness and amnesia.
Through flashbacks, we learn about how she met Robert, how she tried to end their relationship before it could get too serious, and how she eventually returned to him and they got married. We also delve deeper and discover an earlier moment in her life when she was engaged to a man she was reluctant to marry and, when she got violently sick and asked him to take her home, it led to a traffic accident that claimed his life. She blamed herself for his death and blocked out the trauma from her consciousness.
But even this isn’t the root of her emotional distress, and Dr. Kik uses further techniques, including shock therapy and hypnosis, to delve even deeper into her past, determined to discover exactly what her subconscious is trying to prevent her from understanding and confronting. In the meantime, other doctors are looking for ways to free up beds in the hospital, and there is an attempt to discharge her early to make room. Robert, well-meaningly, wants to move her out of the hospital and take her out of the city where he can look after her, too. But this becomes obviously the wrong solution for her when she has a breakdown while being questioned by another doctor over her readiness to be discharged.
This film lives and dies on the performance of its leading lady. Olivia de Havilland is simply stunning in a role that runs the risk of being over-the-top. There are moments where she has to play irrational terror, and in the hands of a less skilled performer, it would be hammy and laughable. But Olivia grounds these moments, sells the terror, and, with support from director Anatole Litvak, keeps us firmly inside her mind so that we can understand and emphasize with her. Anatole’s choice to depict what Virginia is seeing rather than leaving it to the imagination is a strong choice that ultimately sells her emotional distress. The use of voiceover work by Olivia adds confusion at times, but that is an intentional choice that gives us a better understanding of the chaos going on inside her mind.
One thing we don’t get a clear picture of is Robert, her husband. This isn’t his film, so we don’t get a whole lot with him, and that, at times, is to the film’s detriment. This has to be a trying and frustrating position he is in having his new wife going through a mental breakdown to the point that she has to be committed. Yet we never see that side of him. He is the loyal and compassionate partner that seems to have no real flaws besides his one attempt to speed up the process and get her out of the asylum. And even with that moment, when he realizes that was a mistake, there is no frustration or male ego, just acceptance and sorrow for his mistake. In short, he is a little too perfect, which makes him a less interesting character.
What is more interesting is the dynamic that develops between Virginia and Dr. Kik. Because of how much he cares for his patients, especially Virginia, she begins to believe that she is falling in love with him. His feelings for her are altruistic, though, and he never takes advantage of her feelings for him. Once she starts to recover and come to terms with her trauma, those feelings dissipate, and she realizes that they were just part of her fragile emotional state at the time.
Virginia also learns that through kindness, she can help others recover, even if only a little bit. She befriends a woman who is closed off and often lashes out violently at those around her. Through time and understanding, by the time Virginia is ready to leave, she has gotten through to this other woman a bit and even gets a verbal response from her, something no one else has managed.
Throughout her stay at the asylum, Virginia spends time on various different floors, under the supervision of many different doctors and nurses. There is a clear delineation between the ones who are kind and empathetic and the ones who are cold and distant. You can clearly see the difference when looking at the women on those floors. It speaks volumes about the importance of how the kind of care you provide someone can have vastly different effects on their psyches. This is a powerful message and one that those real-world leaders in the various states took to heart, introducing reforms to better care for the patients under their care.
Realistically, the ending of the film can feel a little too neat. But then, we are only really seeing Virginia as she is being discharged and not the many months and years afterwards. There is no indication that she might have a major relapse or have days when things are still very difficult for her. There is also no indication otherwise, either, though. It’s the kind of happy ending that we are not quite sure about, but we paint a picture in our mind of what we want it to be. Mental illness is not something that can just be worked through and it magically goes away. With a lot of time and a lot more patience, it can fall further into the background, but it will always be there. This film doesn’t really emphasize that aspect of things. As a member of the movie-going audience, we instinctually don’t want that while at the same time we don’t fully believe what we are given.
This is one of those movies that is rare; a film that is entertaining yet thought-provoking. It also is a dramatic showcase for the talents of Olivia de Havilland, who proves she is more than up to the task of carrying the picture. There are so many levels on which this film could falter, and yet it rarely makes a misstep. Instead, it is riveting and moving and made people stop for a while and reconsider what we understood about mental illness and how we treated it.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Motion Picture: Anatole Litvak and Robert Bassler
Best Directing: Anatole Litvak
Best Actress: Olivia de Havilland
Best Writing - Screenplay: Frank Partos and Millen Brand
Best Music - Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Alfred Newman
Best Sound Recording: Thomas T. Moulton (won)
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Release Date: November 13, 1948
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, and Celeste Holm
Directed by: Anatole Litvak
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