The Snake Pit (1948) | |
| Director(s) | Anatole Litvak |
| Producer(s) | Robert Bassler, Anatole Litvak, Darryl F. Zanuck (executive uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Drama, Film Adaptation |
| Top Topics | Amnesia, Book-Based |
Featured Cast:
The Snake Pit Overview:
The Snake Pit (1948) was a Drama - Black-and-white Film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Robert Bassler, Darryl F. Zanuck and Anatole Litvak.
Academy Awards 1948 --- Ceremony Number 21 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actress | Olivia de Havilland | Nominated |
| Best Director | Anatole Litvak | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Alfred Newman | Nominated |
| Best Picture | 20th Century-Fox | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Frank Partos, Millen Brand | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Exploring Olivia de Havilland’s Performance in ‘The Snake Pit’ (1948)
By Virginie Pronovost on Jul 1, 2018 From The Wonderful World of CinemaToday, the legendary Olivia de Havilland is turning 102 years old! What a victory! For a third consecutive year, Crystal from In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Laura from Phyllis Loves Classic Movies are hosting the Annual Olivia de Havilland Blogathon. I’m happy to take part in th... Read full article
Screening of “The Snake Pit” at Daystar Center September 12
By Stephen Reginald on Sep 1, 2017 From Classic Movie ManScreening of “The Snake Pit” at Daystar Center September 12 “Classic Movie Man Favorites” Series: The Snake Pit (1948) Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street When: September 12, 2017 Time: 6:30 p.m. Hosted by Stephen Reginald The Snake Pit (1948) stars two-time Bes... Read full article
The Snake Pit (1948)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 24, 2017 From 4 Star FilmsThere is a lineage of psychological dramas most notably including the likes of Shock Corridor and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. But one of their primary predecessors was The Snake Pit which is a haunting, inscrutable and thought-provoking film in its own right. But rather than trying to sum it up ... Read full article
The Snake Pit (1948)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 24, 2017 From 4 Star FilmsThere is a lineage of psychological dramas most notably including the likes of Shock Corridor and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. But one of their primary predecessors was The Snake Pit which is a haunting, inscrutable and thought-provoking film in its own right. But rather than trying to sum it up ... Read full article
1001 Classic Movies: The Snake Pit
By Amanda Garrett on Jul 19, 2016 From Old Hollywood FilmsThe Snake Pit (1948), starring Olivia de Havilland, is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. Each Monday, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go here). Old Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland ... Read full article
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Quotes from
Doctor Mark Kik: A snake pit?
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Later, weeks later, I understood. I remembered once reading in a book that long ago they used to put insane people into pits full of snakes. I think they figured that something which might drive a normal person insane, might shock an insane person back into sanity. Did you ever hear of that?
Doctor Mark Kik: Yes.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Well, it was just as though they'd thrown me into a snake pit. And I was shocked into thinking that maybe I wasn't as sick as the others... and I really might get well.
Miss Greene: You get off the rug, Virginia Cunningham! Come on! Come on! Get off of there! I've told you a dozen times we do not walk on our rug.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Why not?
Miss Greene: Because we don't! Understand? We're the only ward that has a rug. It's new, I mean it's clean, and we mean to keep it that way.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Why don't you hang it on the wall?
Miss Greene: Your wisecracks might have been appreciated in other wards, but in 12 they don't go over.
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Is this 12?
Miss Greene: And what did you think it was? One?
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: How long have I been here?
Miss Greene: Too long.
Robert Cunningham: Tell me what have you been doing all these months?
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: Working 18 hours a day and being lonely 24.
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Facts about
In his autobiography, writer Arthur Laurents said that he had been hired by director Anatole Litvak to rewrite the first draft of the screenplay by Frank Partos and Millen Brand, which he did. Partos and Brand wanted the WGA to rule that they were the only writers and to delete Laurents' credit, so they submitted the script to an arbitration and presented carbon copies of Laurents' work as their own. The WGA removed Laurents' credit, even though several years later, Brand admitted to Laurents that he and Partos had created forged carbons to make Laurents' work look like theirs.
The title stems from an ancient practice of dealing with the mentally ill where they were thrown into a pit of snakes. The theory was that something like that would make a normal person insane, therefore it must work in reverse.
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