Review of The Snake Pit (1948) by Susan P — 25 Apr 2010
This film about mental illness seems like a rather progressive film for the time. It has the obligatory cringe-inducing shock therapy treatment scenes, Nurse Ratchet-like mean nurses and straight-jacket haul-offs, but it's the original that spawned all those (and was made pre-Nurse Ratchet).
Mainly though, it concentrates on psychotherapy. Thankfully (and surprisingly, as this was made at the height of its popularity) there were no lobotomies in it. Anyway, it's about a woman who has amnesia after a "nervous breakdown", and her husband is there wanting to help her.
Through psychotherapy and hypnosis, a helpful doctor helps her figure out what happened to her and who she is. The acting is pretty good, and the asylum looks and feels authentic. I like watching classic films, and I love anything having to do with psychology, so when this came on TCM I checked it out.
Interesting to watch.
This review of The Snake Pit (1948) was written by Susan P on 25 Apr 2010.
The Snake Pit has generally received very positive reviews.
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