The Snake Pit - Plot

Plot

Virginia Cunningham (Olivia de Havilland) is an apparently schizophrenic inmate at a mental institution called the Juniper Hill State Hospital. She hears voices and seems so out of touch with reality that she doesn’t recognize her husband Robert (Mark Stevens).

Dr. “Kik” (Leo Genn) works with her, and flashbacks show how Virginia and Robert met a few years earlier in Chicago. He worked for a publisher who rejected her writing, and they bumped into each other again in the cafeteria. Occasionally she continued to drop by the cafeteria so they get to know each other.

Despite their blossoming romance, Virginia eventually abruptly leaves town without explanation. Robert moves to New York and bumps into her again at the Philharmonic. After she provides a loose excuse for her absence and departure, they pick up where they left off, though she remains evasive and avoids his desire for marriage. Eventually, Virginia brings up the possibility of marriage. They go ahead and marry on May 7, but Virginia acts erratically again. She can’t sleep and loses touch with reality, as she feels it’s November and snaps when Robert corrects her. The rest of the film follows her therapy. Dr. Kik puts her through shock treatment and other forms of treatment including hypnotherapy. Dr. Kik wants to get to the “causes of her unconscious rejection.” The film includes many flashbacks, including her earlier failed engagement to Gordon (Leif Erickson) as well as childhood concerns. The film shows her progress and what happens to her along the way.

The mental hospital is organized on a spectrum of "levels." The better a patient gets, the higher level she is able to achieve. Virginia moves to the highest level, but there she encounters Nurse Davis (Helen Craig) who is the only cruel nurse in the movie. Jealous of Dr. Kik's interest in Virginia, (purely professional), and in her eyes excessive concern, Nurse Davis is so severe with Virginia that she goads her into an outburst which results in her being expelled from first level in a straight jacket. We then see Virginia demoted to what we are led to believe is the lowest level. Despite this setback, Dr Kik's excellent care continues to improve Virginia's mental state.

Of special note, when Virginia realizes that she is recovering, there is a dance social including both male and female patients. Virginia meets and dances with Dr. Kik. We then see and hear a moving rendition of the song "Going Home" (from the second movement of Dvorak's 9th symphony, New World Symphony) sung by Jan Clayton, who ironically received no billing despite her stellar performance. The patients stop dancing. Everyone gathers to hear this song with its poignant lyrics including such words as "mother's there 'spectin' me, father's waitin' too." Spontaneously they all begin to sing knowing that many of them will never go home. At the end of the movie, Virginia's husband Robert comes to take her home. As they leave on the Juniper Hill State Hospital bus, we hear the melody again.