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)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressOlivia de HavillandNominated
Best DirectorAnatole LitvakNominated
Best Music - ScoringAlfred NewmanNominated
Best Picture20th Century-FoxNominated
Best WritingFrank Partos, Millen BrandNominated
.

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 Cinema

Today, 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 Man

Screening 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 Films

There 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 Films

There 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 Films

The 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


See all The Snake Pit articles

Quotes from

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.


Virginia Stuart Cunningham: It was strange, here I was among all those people, and at the same time I felt as if I were looking at them from some place far away, the whole place seemed to me like a deep hole and the people down in it like strange animals, like... like snakes, and I've been thrown into it... yes... as though... as though I were in a snake pit...
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.


Celia Sommerville: And we're so crowded already. I just don't know where it's all gonna end!
Virginia Stuart Cunningham: I'll tell you where it's gonna end, Miss Somerville... When there are more sick ones than well ones, the sick ones will lock the well ones up.


read more quotes from The Snake Pit...

Facts about

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onApril 10, 1950 with Olivia de Havilland reprising her film role.
The character of the gentle psychiatrist was based on the real-life career of Dr. Gerard Chrzanowski, who told his patients to call him simply "Dr. Kik." Dr. Chrzanowski died in November, 2000 at age 87.
Mary Jane Ward's book, the basis for this film, was an autobiographical account of the author's experiences in psychiatric hospitals. The book caused considerable controversy upon its publication in 1946, as it was a scathing indictment of the treatment of psychiatric patients, a subject considered taboo in the 1940s. Naturally, the book was a runaway bestseller.
read more facts about The Snake Pit...
Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
Best Picture Oscar 1948






See more Best Picture awards>>
Also directed by Anatole Litvak




More about Anatole Litvak >>
Also produced by Robert Bassler




More about Robert Bassler >>
Related Lists
Create a list


See All Related Lists >>
Also released in 1948




See All 1948 films >>
More "Book-Based" films



See All "Book-Based" films >>
More "Amnesia" films



See All "Amnesia" films >>