Really surprising to see a film from this era tackle mental health, particularly women's mental health, in such a honest and sympathetic way. Olivia de Havilland is incredible, I always seem to underrate her but better this and The Heiress she really is one of the best actresses of the era in terms of truly complex characters. Also I'm an incredible sucker for whenever "Goin' Home" is used in a movie.

Really surprising to see a film from this era tackle mental health, particularly women's mental health, in such a honest and sympathetic way. Olivia de Havilland is incredible, I always seem to underrate her but better this and The Heiress she really is one of the best actresses of the era in terms of truly complex characters. Also I'm an incredible sucker for whenever "Goin' Home" is used in a movie.

78/100

"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..."

It’s pretty interesting to see how mental illness was perceived and depicted in this 1940s mystery. This movie was ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Olivia de Havilland gives a great performance. Watching Virginia Cunningham recover from her psychosis and attempt to manage her schizophrenia was both heartbreaking and eye-opening.

Some of those electro-shock therapy scenes were crazy to watch.

78/100

"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..."

It’s pretty interesting to see how mental illness was perceived and depicted in this 1940s mystery. This movie was ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Olivia de Havilland gives a great performance. Watching Virginia Cunningham recover from her psychosis and attempt to manage her schizophrenia was both heartbreaking and eye-opening.

Some of those electro-shock therapy scenes were crazy to watch.

Una película hecha en 1948 sobre la salud mental y el abuso que recibían los pacientes en estas instituciones, definitivamente esta muy adelantanda a su tiempo.

Una película hecha en 1948 sobre la salud mental y el abuso que recibían los pacientes en estas instituciones, definitivamente esta muy adelantanda a su tiempo.

regarded as one of the first movies to depict female institutionalisation in Hollywood, the snake pit was a really intriguing black and white film, following the story of an amnesiac.

loved watching this and her dissolution and rebuilding of herself, olivia is an amazing actress!!

regarded as one of the first movies to depict female institutionalisation in Hollywood, the snake pit was a really intriguing black and white film, following the story of an amnesiac.

loved watching this and her dissolution and rebuilding of herself, olivia is an amazing actress!!

It’s really all about that Olivia de Havilland performance, a fearlessly manic portrayal of a woman afflicted with some combo of schizophrenia, psychosis, and paranoia committed to a mental hospital. There’s a few scenes exploring the aloof treatment of patients but the focus really rests on Virginia whose psychoanalysis is fed to us through surreal sequences of memory and voices questioning her own stability. I think something’s lost in the film’s decision to almost solely dedicate itself to capturing the wild look in de Havilland’s eyes instead of something more robust about these facilities and the women who are abandoned in them. Still it’s quite the showcase and I’m not convinced many other performers could have given this role the dedication and power de Havilland musters.

It’s really all about that Olivia de Havilland performance, a fearlessly manic portrayal of a woman afflicted with some combo of schizophrenia, psychosis, and paranoia committed to a mental hospital. There’s a few scenes exploring the aloof treatment of patients but the focus really rests on Virginia whose psychoanalysis is fed to us through surreal sequences of memory and voices questioning her own stability. I think something’s lost in the film’s decision to almost solely dedicate itself to capturing the wild look in de Havilland’s eyes instead of something more robust about these facilities and the women who are abandoned in them. Still it’s quite the showcase and I’m not convinced many other performers could have given this role the dedication and power de Havilland musters.