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97-415: The Snake Pit is a 1948 American psychological drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Olivia de Havilland , Mark Stevens , Leo Genn , Celeste Holm , Beulah Bondi , and Lee Patrick . Based on Mary Jane Ward 's 1946 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, the film recounts the tale of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there. The novel

194-658: A Lockheed factory, was made a colonel in the Army Air Corps without ever actually having to leave the studio, let alone put on a uniform. Not so Zanuck, who pleaded with the War Department, as soon as American troops were posted for action in North Africa , and was rewarded with the assignment of covering the invasion for the Signal Corps. Director John Ford , a longtime adversary of Zanuck despite

291-625: A recruiter , joined the U.S. Army and served in France with the Nebraska National Guard during World War I . Upon returning to the US, he worked in many part-time jobs while seeking work as a writer. He found work producing movie plots, and sold his first story in 1922 to William Russell and his second to Irving Thalberg . Screenwriter Frederica Sagor Maas , story editor at Universal Pictures' New York office, stated that one of

388-419: A strong, emotional value from audiences. Psychological dramas commonly deal directly with the psychological state and mental health, emphasize on emotional conflicts and often serve as a portrait of introspective personal struggle. It can be also characterized as primary character-driven , in which attention will be particularly paid to the psychology of the characters, to their intimate problems more than to

485-583: A weighted average rating of 8.1/10. Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film three and a half out of a possible four stars, calling it "gripping" and "one of the first films to deal intelligently with mental breakdown and the painstakingly slow recovery process". Among liberals and leftists the film was received as politically progressive. Thus, the Communist Party USA 's People's Daily World hailed it as "A Film Achievement" and explained that it "does not foster an argument that

582-430: A Millionaire (also 1953), a glossy star package with Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall . Of the other studios, MGM had immediately abandoned its own attempts and committed to CinemaScope and United Artists and Walt Disney Productions announced they would make films in the same widescreen process, but the other studios hesitated, and some announced their own rival systems: Paramount's VistaVision , which would prove

679-494: A clinical case dramatically performed." The film led to changes in the conditions of mental institutions in the United States. In 1949, Herb Stein of Daily Variety wrote "Wisconsin is the seventh state to institute reforms in its mental hospitals as a result of The Snake Pit ." Publicity releases from Twentieth Century-Fox claimed that twenty-six of the then forty-eight states had enacted reform legislation because of

776-495: A cumbersome cut of The Song of Bernadette (1943), recutting the completed film into a surprise hit that made a star of newcomer Jennifer Jones , who won the Oscar. He relented to actor Otto Preminger 's fervent wish to direct a modest thriller called Laura (1944), casting Clifton Webb in his Oscar-nominated role as Gene Tierney 's controlling mentor, with David Raksin 's haunting score. Leading theater director Elia Kazan

873-516: 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 got to know each other. Despite their blossoming romance, Virginia abruptly leaves town without explanation. Robert moves to New York and bumps into her again at the Philharmonic. After she provides

970-511: A flimsy 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 marry on May 7, but Virginia acts erratically again. She cannot sleep and loses touch with reality, as she feels it is November and snaps when Robert corrects her. The rest of the film follows her therapy. Dr. Kik puts her through electro-shock treatment and narcosynthesis . Dr. Kik wants to get to

1067-449: A generous contract from Fox that gave him directing and casting control on any projects Fox financed. Eventually, in his absence, Fox began to fall to pieces due to the ballooning budget of Cleopatra (1963), whose entire set constructed at Pinewood Studios had to be scrapped before shooting even started. Meanwhile, Zanuck picked up a hefty book by Cornelius Ryan called The Longest Day , which promised to fulfill his dream of making

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1164-499: A hotel in Wahoo. He had an older brother, Donald (1893–1903), who died in an accident when he was only 9 years old. Zanuck was of partial Swiss descent, and raised a Protestant. At age six, Zanuck and his mother moved to Los Angeles , where the better climate could improve her poor health. At age eight, he found his first movie job as an extra , but his disapproving father recalled him to Nebraska. In 1917, despite being 15, he deceived

1261-551: A large padded cell and abandoned. Dr. Kik, learning of this, has Virginia returned to Level One, but away from Nurse Davis's care. Despite this setback, Dr. Kik's care continues to improve Virginia's mental state. Over time, Virginia gains insight and self-understanding, and is able to leave the hospital. The film depicts the bureaucratic regimentation of the institution, the staff (some unkind and aloof, some kind and empathetic), and relationships between patients, from which Virginia learns as much as she does in therapy. Gene Tierney

1358-520: A new and vastly more economical and efficient wide-screen process, but all Fox films would be released in CinemaScope—a format which had yet to be perfected. The Robe (1953), a Biblical epic , would be its first released feature film. Skouras now began to oversee Fox's somewhat startled research scientists, based on the East Coast and accustomed to Hollywood executives who thought R&D

1455-523: A proxy takeover, claiming the current Fox administration was wasting stockholders' money. He attempted to conspire with Zanuck to oust the New York-based president of Fox since 1942, Greek-American Spyros Skouras . Zanuck refused; instead, Skouras and he decided to gamble on CinemaScope to save their jobs, and perhaps, their studio. Skouras made a bold announcement in February; Fox not only had

1552-463: A sign reading 'Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck'." Ford's chagrin turned to real outrage when Zanuck, after three months, took all their footage from battles in Tunisia , most of which Ford had shot, and hastily assembled it into a picture that went into American theaters without Ford's name appearing anywhere. The movie, released as At The Front with Zanuck credited as producer, was poorly received in

1649-403: A top-secret, brand new, massively powerful bomb the size of a "golf ball" to a fellow officer from his Hollywood world. Whatever the reason, despite having published his own first-person account of his wartime adventures ( The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther actually liked this book better than the film), he resigned. Zanuck returned to 20th Century-Fox in 1944 a changed man. He avoided

1746-404: A well-documented habit of flashing his penis at women." According to Zanuck's biographer, Marlys Harris: "Anyone at the studio knew of the afternoon trysts, [...] [Zanuck] was not serious about any of the women. To him they were merely pleasurable breaks in the day — like polo, lunch, and practical jokes." A long-time cigar smoker , he died of pneumonia in 1979, aged 77. He is interred at

1843-566: A wife and mother is part of her "cure". Other film analysts view it as successful in conveying Ward's view of the uncertainties of post-World War II life and women's roles. Due to public concerns that the extras in the film were in fact real mental patients being exploited, the British censor added a foreword explaining that everyone who appeared on screen was a paid actor and that conditions in British hospitals were unlike those portrayed in

1940-507: A worthy rival, and Warner Bros.'s WarnerScope which vanished overnight. The November 3, 1953, premiere of The Robe brought Warner Bros. and Columbia around, though Warner's plan was a full slate of 3-D features for 1954, instead. Zanuck began to make compromises, and eventually capitulated. Smaller theaters rented conventional versions of the studio's films; stereo they could live without altogether. Todd-AO came out in 1955, and after its developer, Mike Todd , died in 1958, Zanuck invested in

2037-633: Is best known of creating anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion , a notorious example of the subgenre, delves into heavy psychological elements in its latter half of the entire series. The anime series was the subject to acclaim and controversy, especially for the latter centered on its final two episodes; this was resulted to reboot a feature film as an alternative ending . Additionally, some anime series employed in psychological elements including Akagi , The Flowers of Evil , The Fruit of Grisaia , Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai , Scum's Wish , The Tatami Galaxy , Welcome to

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2134-468: Is the most notable example of animated psychological drama films, confronted with bitterness and human conditions. His films included Harvie Krumpet (2003), Mary and Max (2009), and Memoir of a Snail (2024). Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck ( / ˈ z æ n ə k / ; September 5, 1902 – December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive ; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in

2231-551: The 35 mm format in which all movies were shot—and this was no accident. Standardization of film size meant all theaters everywhere could play all films. Even the projection of film formats—i.e. any attempt to break out of the 35 mm format were under the control of the Hays Office, which limited any wide-screen experiments to the 10 largest cities in America. This severely limited the future of any widescreen format. Zanuck

2328-575: The Academy Awards ; the disturbing questions of a bomber squadron leader Gregory Peck in Twelve O'Clock High (1949) challenged wartime patriotism . Both showed Zanuck's ability to create box-office hits via brilliant films with unflinching examinations of demanding, hierarchical worlds. Zanuck continued to tackle social issues other studios would not touch, but he stumbled with idealistic projects. Wilson (1944), an expensive picture that

2425-570: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences ' decision to restore salary cuts. A few days later, he partnered with Joseph Schenck to form 20th Century Pictures, Inc. with financial help from Joseph's brother Nicholas Schenck and Louis B. Mayer , president and studio head of Loew's, Inc and its subsidiary Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , along with William Goetz and Raymond Griffith . 20th Century released its material through United Artists . During that short time (1933–1935), 20th Century became

2522-778: The British Army film unit, where at least he would be studying army training films while under Nazi bombardment by Hitler 's Luftwaffe . He even persuaded Lord Mountbatten to allow him along on a secret coastal raid across the Channel to occupied France. The daring nighttime attack on a German radar site was a success. Zanuck, ever the showman, sent his wife in Santa Monica a package of "Nazi-occupied sand", writing her "I've just been swimming on an enemy beach" – not allowed, of course, to tell her where he had been, let alone that they had been under Nazi gunfire and helped

2619-633: The Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery , near his wife, Virginia Fox in Westwood, Los Angeles, California . Zanuck began tackling serious issues, breaking new ground by producing some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films . Long before it was fashionable to do so, Zanuck addressed issues such as racism ( Pinky ), antisemitism ( Gentleman's Agreement ), poverty ( The Grapes of Wrath , Tobacco Road ), unfair labor exploitation and destruction of

2716-405: The psychological horror and psychological thriller genres. Psychological dramas use these genres' tropes to focus on the human condition and psychological effects, usually in a mature and serious tone, nearly similar to melodrama . The difference between "drama" and " psychological drama " that places emphasis is that in the latter scenario, the focus is more on the psychological character of

2813-619: The silent era . He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career was rivaled only by that of Adolph Zukor ). He produced three films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture during his tenure at 20th Century Fox . Zanuck was born in Wahoo, Nebraska , the son of Sarah Louise (née Torpin), who later married Charles Norton, and Frank Harvey Zanuck, who owned and operated

2910-456: The "causes of her unconscious rejection." The film includes many flashbacks, including her earlier failed engagement to Gordon as well as childhood issues. The film shows her progress and what happens to her along the way. The mental hospital is organized on a system of wards, with the best functioning patients assigned to the wards with the lowest numbers, which have better furnishings and more relaxed rules for patient behavior. Virginia moves to

3007-479: The 1950s, one sees how effective Schlaifler was with congressmen and the business executives whom he brought to testify that research on mental health problems would be good for business. While Schlaifler had no interest in creating a social movement, he played a key role in making mental illness a national concern, not just the business of individual states. More concretely, he helped convince members of Congress to dramatically increase funds to combat mental illness, and

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3104-657: The Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Ninth Configuration (1980), Pink Floyd - The Wall , Sophie's Choice (both 1982) Heavenly Creatures (1994), Breaking the Waves (1996), I Stand Alone (1998), Magnolia (1999), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Piano Teacher (2001), Elephant (2003), Enter the Void (2009), Biutiful (2010), Shame (2011), Jagten and The Master (both 2012), Nymphomaniac (2013), Whiplash (2014), The Power of

3201-451: The Dog (2021), and Blonde and The Whale (both 2022). Films have some thematically-linked franchises or trilogies to focus on aspects of human condition and psychological elements, notably Iñárritu 's Death trilogy (consists Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006)) and Krzysztof Kieślowski 's Three Colours trilogy . Asian films have contributed

3298-485: The End of History (both 2013), Black Stone (2015), Last Night (2017), and Family History and John Denver Trending (both 2019). Animated series are examples of this subgenre only focuses on characters' experience with mental health and psychological trauma ; these included Bojack Horseman , Morel Orel , Steven Universe Future , and Undone . Japanese filmmaker and animator Hideaki Anno , who

3395-630: The Fox studio, and was put in charge of public relations for The Snake Pit . In that role, his consciousness about the mentally ill was raised, and soon Schlaifler began testifying before Congress on the need for more funds for the National Institute of Mental Health . Then, in 1951, he became a spokesman for the National Mental Health Committee, founded by Mary Lasker . In the transcripts of Congressional hearings in

3492-758: The French press which Zanuck managed to suppress. Probably for reasons like this, though he stayed in Europe for some years, Zanuck would not divorce his wife Virginia, nor she him. She stayed patiently in Santa Monica, a neglected but effective " Maginot Line " against the claims of her rivals. This would later prove to have costly consequences. Fearing the studio's profligacy would sink his cherished The Longest Day (1962) as it readied for release, Zanuck returned to control Fox. He replaced Spyros Skouras as president, who had failed to control perilous cost overruns on

3589-523: The N.H.K. , and Wonder Egg Priority . A Silent Voice , Anomalisa , It's Such a Beautiful Day , Inside Out (and its sequel ), The Missing , Puss in Boots: The Last Wish , and When Marnie Was There are among the examples of animated films used in the subgenre, usually having the characters' portrayal dealt with several themes such as anxiety attack , fear of abandonment and death , and society. Adam Elliot

3686-586: The States, called amateurish, dull, and even lacking in realism, prompting the affronted Zanuck to counter in The New York Times that he had resisted the temptation to stage events for a more convincing film. Unfortunately, this controversy landed Zanuck into a Senate subcommittee headed by Senator Harry S. Truman , investigating "instant" colonels who were popping up and concentrating on famous Hollywood names. Unlike Col. Warner, most colonels from

3783-559: The U.K. The Snake Pit won the Academy Award for Best Sound Recording ( Thomas T. Moulton ), and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (de Havilland), Best Director , Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture , Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay . The film also won the International Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1949, where it was cited for "a daring inquiry in

3880-514: The United States, Litvak became known as the most prominent director of films with antifascist sentiment. Most notably, he directed Confessions of a Nazi Spy in 1939, alerting American audiences to the rise of Hitler. When the United States entered the war, Litvak enlisted in the U.S. Army and co-directed with Frank Capra the Why We Fight films, which Capra produced. In his contact with men who had survived combat, Litvak became interested in

3977-401: The characters and on existentialism in general, and not on the context of the narrative itself. So, the end is not necessarily tragic: the main character can doubt himself and sometimes overcome his intimate problems. Psychological drama can be very clearly distinguished from dramedy , as there is no to minimal humor in it like Good Will Hunting (1997) and The Truman Show (1998) but since

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4074-456: The characters’ minds. It can be explore thematic elements include: denialism , depression , disability , distorted sequences , dysfunctional relationships , existential crisis , human sexuality , identity crisis , mass hysteria , mood swings , odd behaviors , post-traumatic stress disorder , psychological abuse , psychedelic art , and social issues . Psychological drama films have generally rooted with traditional drama genre in

4171-399: The definitive film of D-Day . Flying back to the States, he had to convince a Fox board, staggering under the still-unfinished Cleopatra ' s $ 15 million cost, to finance what he was sure would be a box-office hit, as indeed it was, despite skeptics that included his son Richard. He seethed at the $ 8 million ceiling imposed on him, knowing he would have to dip into his own pocket to finish

4268-789: The earliest years of 20th century, with these examples cited The Whispering Chorus (1918) and Greed (1924). Additionally, early examples of popular subgenre films in 1930s to 1950s include La vuelta al nido (1938), Death of a Salesman (1951), Johnny Belinda (1948), A Place in the Sun (1951), and The Snake Pit (1948) Several films generally used the subgenre have employed controversially social issues and/or psychosexual themes, most notably Stanley Kubrick 's Lolita (1962), A Clockwork Orange (1971), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Other acclaimed films with similar themes including Last Tango in Paris (1972), One Flew Over

4365-410: The emotional intensity and draw audiences deeper into the psychological experience. These primary themes in the subgenre related to depiction of mental illness , psychological trauma , and society , but not limited to; other themes like alienation , self-doubt , and the quest for identity are common, with narratives often blurring the lines between reality and illusion to reflect the turmoil within

4462-613: The entire cast and crew accompany him to various mental institutions and to lectures by leading psychiatrists. He did not have to convince de Havilland, who threw herself into the research with an intensity that surprised even those who knew her well. Her interest derived in part from having had a childhood friend who was hospitalized with schizophrenia. De Havilland watched carefully each of the procedures then in vogue, including hydrotherapy and electric shock treatments . When permitted, she sat in on long individual therapy sessions. She attended social functions, including dinners and dances with

4559-421: The environment ( How Green Was My Valley ), and institutionalized mistreatment of the mentally ill ( The Snake Pit ) . After The Snake Pit (1948) was released, 13 states changed their laws. For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Zanuck earned three Irving G. Thalberg Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (including the first ever awarded); after Zanuck's third win,

4656-402: The film, as he soon did. To the all-star all-male cast, he added an unknown French beauty, Irina Demick , as a Resistance fighter . She had become his mistress after her casting session for the film's only female speaking part. She would be followed by Geneviève Gilles and the French singer Juliette Gréco . Greco, who in fact had her own recording career, published a kiss-and-tell memoir in

4753-547: The film. The censor also cut 1,000 feet of the film, deleting all sequences involving patients in straitjackets , and lighter scenes evoking laughter. A group of psychiatric nurses in Britain tried to have the film banned but failed. To counteract the idea that U.K. hospitals were as dismal as those in the U.S., the Crown Film Unit produced Out of True , a motion picture showing the positive atmosphere and methods in

4850-429: The first half of the 20th century, as Cohn reportedly even had a private room next to his office where he conducted his unofficial 'business'", and went on to blame both Zanuck and Cohn for having "helped foster the industry's corrosive atmosphere of sexualized misconduct." A New York Times article in February 2020 following Weinstein's conviction repeated similar claims about Zanuck, while reporting that he also "had

4947-425: The first time, had the power to cancel it and he did. At the end of 1970, Zanuck hurriedly assembled the board the day before New Year's. Zanuck denounced his son's incompetence in front of the entire board and summarily fired him. Richard, stunned and humiliated, flew back to Los Angeles on New Year's Day; a studio guard stood watch at his office; it was left to his secretary to tell him he had until 6:00 pm to be off

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5044-460: The highly successful The Sound of Music (1965), committed to the science-fiction hit Planet of the Apes (1968), unleashed maverick director Robert Altman to create his antiwar comedy MASH (1970) and hired the little-known Francis Coppola to write Patton (1970) into a project for George C. Scott . However, Zanuck Sr's next all-star World War II film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

5141-407: The industry's studios, theater owners, manufacturers, to stockholders and the press—by mid-March, to give them enough time to impress their shareholders with their new product and thus win the proxy fight. With Chretien's new lens, the Fox engineers pulled it together—a widescreen, Cinerama-like picture projected using merely one projector, not three. Zanuck carried out presentations of CinemaScope to

5238-489: The innovative new process was pitched to them for investment. In retrospect, this looked like a mistake, but nothing could be done. Cinerama was no longer for sale. Zanuck now urged the studio to keep the same principle, but find a more feasible approach. He approved a massive investment into a system that would be called CinemaScope —$ 10 million in its first year alone. The urgency was increased when an aggressive appliance tycoon and shareholder, Charles Green, began threatening

5335-400: The latter's having shepherded Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940) past the censorious Hays office into production, had been making films as a commander in the U.S. Navy even before the U.S. entered the war, and he was horrified to discover himself drafted into Zanuck's Africa unit. "Can't I ever get away from you?" he growled. "I bet if I die and go to heaven, you'll be waiting for me under

5432-407: The lengths to which we had gone to show the real complexity and scope of analytic treatment". Mary Jane Ward , on whose book the film was based, also expressed support for the screenplay and the film, as did journalist Albert Deutsch . The film has come under fire from some feminist authors for a seeming misportrayal of Virginia's difficulties and the implication that accepting a subservient role as

5529-404: The lot. Zanuck remained chairman and appointed underlings to replace his son as president; an outraged Virginia Zanuck rushed to her son's side with her 100,000 shares of stock. Guilty gifts of stock from her faithless husband had made her one of Fox's major shareholders. She signed them over to a group of disgusted shareholders who staged a rebellion at the annual spring meeting that May. Zanuck

5626-493: The lowest level (One), where she is treated well by a young nurse but is picked on by Nurse Davis, the only truly abusive nurse in the hospital. Davis is jealous of Dr. Kik's interest in Virginia, which she sees as excessive. Nurse Davis goads Virginia into an outburst which results in Virginia being straitjacketed and expelled from Level One into the "snake pit", where patients considered beyond help are simply placed together in

5723-429: The most successful independent movie studio of its time, breaking box-office records with 18 of its 19 films, all profitable, including Clive of India , Les Miserables , and The House of Rothschild . After a dispute with United Artists over stock ownership, Schenck and Zanuck negotiated and used their studio to bring the bankrupt Fox studios in 1935 to create Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation . Zanuck

5820-409: The movie. While it is wise to be cautious about claims that a film changed social policy, recent scholarship suggests that such an assertion may be valid. One reformer connected to The Snake Pit who does not appear in histories of psychiatry was Charles Schlaifler, a key figure in getting federal support for mental health after World War II. In 1942, Schlaifler became a vice president for advertising at

5917-532: The new proportions. Committed to its all-widescreen slate, Fox had to drop several projects that were deemed unsuitable for CinemaScope—one of them being Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), which Zanuck could not visualize being in color and widescreen. (Kazan took the project to Columbia , which had thus far stayed on the sidelines of the widescreen debate.) The public demonstrations that spring had already included excerpts from The Robe and How to Marry

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6014-546: The patients. In fact, after the film's release, when columnist Florabel Muir questioned in print whether any mental institution actually "allowed contact dances among violent inmates," Muir was surprised by a telephone call from de Havilland, who assured her she had attended several such dances herself. Much of the film was filmed in the Camarillo State Mental Hospital in California . Litvak

6111-623: The period film Star! (1968), and Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly (1969). By the decade's end, Zanuck Sr. was spending millions on expensive vehicles in Europe for his new girlfriend, Genevieve Gilles . Barely 20 years old, she had her own contract to produce and star in Zanuck's films. Her first acting effort, Hello-Goodbye (1970), died on release. The studio lost $ 4 million. From her Paris apartment, Gilles interviewed directors for her next script, which she had written herself. Zanuck

6208-511: The press in cities across the country throughout April, as Skouras and he gathered their forces for the proxy fight. "The enthusiastic response of those who attended these screenings and the laudatory reviews of CinemaScope in the trade press," writes John Belton in his book, Widescreen (1992), "undoubtedly played a major role in Green's defeat" at the May 5 meeting. CinemaScope's need for a wider screen

6305-665: The process for Fox's most exclusive roadshows . Although pictures continued to be shot in CinemaScope until 1967, it ironically became relegated to Fox's conventional releases. Nonetheless, the Battle of the Screens seemed to leave Zanuck emotionally exhausted. He began an affair with a young Polish woman, who was actually a guest of his wife, changing her name to Bella Darvi . When he cast Darvi in The Egyptian (1954), she

6402-556: The psychiatric treatment of veterans and the plight of the mentally ill. After buying the rights to The Snake Pit , Litvak sold them to Darryl F. Zanuck at Twentieth Century-Fox . Zanuck had produced films with social conscience, most notably The Grapes of Wrath and Gentleman's Agreement . With The Snake Pit , Zanuck added mental patients to Jews and the poor as groups left out of the American dream. Director Litvak insisted upon three months of grueling research. He demanded that

6499-607: The relentlessly authentic film could not disguise its downbeat nature as a chronicle of American defeat, the last thing critics and audiences wanted to revisit at the height of the Vietnam War in Asia . As the tumultuous decade wore on, Richard also began to falter with lavish costume musicals that expensively tanked: Rex Harrison as the man who could talk to the animals in Doctor Dolittle (1967), Julie Andrews in

6596-469: The rules were changed to limit one Thalberg Award to one person. 20th Century Fox, the studio he co-founded and ran successfully for so many years, screens movies in its Darryl F. Zanuck Theater. On February 8, 1960, Zanuck received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , for his contribution to the motion picture industry, at 6336 Hollywood Blvd . In the 2022 Netflix film Blonde , Zanuck

6693-488: The solution to our problems lies in new regiments of psychoanalysts". A contemporaneous account by Millen Brand , who co-wrote the screenplay, said that leading psychiatrists found the film "sensational". Writing about a special showing arranged for sixty psychiatrists in New York City, Brand told a fellow screenwriter that "the psychiatrists not only were enthusiastic without reserve, but they were swooning around at

6790-544: The spoiled son of Universal's founder, Carl Laemmle Jr. , who was chauffeured by limousine to the facility each morning from a luxury Manhattan hotel. Appalled by such privileged cosseting, Zanuck stormed down to Washington, DC , and into the War Department , demanding a riskier assignment from Chief of Staff , General George C. Marshall . Since American forces were not yet fighting anywhere, Marshall had Zanuck posted to London as chief U.S. liaison officer to

6887-491: The still-unfinished Cleopatra and had been forced to shelve Marilyn Monroe 's last vehicle, Something's Got to Give after principal photography had started, at a loss of $ 2 million. Zanuck promptly made his son, Richard D. Zanuck , head of production. Richard quickly displayed his own flair for picking fresh, new hits, helped by his trusted fellow producer, David Brown . He plucked Rodgers and Hammerstein's least successful Broadway show from obscurity and turned it into

6984-743: The stories Zanuck sent out to movie studios around this time was completely plagiarized from another author's work. Zanuck then worked for Mack Sennett and FBO (where he wrote the serials The Telephone Girl and The Leather Pushers ) and took that experience to Warner Bros. , where he wrote stories for Rin Tin Tin and under a number of pseudonyms wrote over 40 scripts from 1924 to 1929, including Red Hot Tires (1925) and Old San Francisco (1927). He moved into management in 1929, and became head of production in 1931. In April 1933, Zanuck left Warner Bros. over an industry salary dispute when studio head Jack L. Warner refused to comply with

7081-407: The storyline context. The characters are confronted with doubts, dilemmas or inner personality conflicts. The challenges they encounter will often force them to react, making them go through a whole psychological process during the film, even a metamorphosis. It often overlaps with other genres such as crime , fantasy , dark comedy , mystery and science fiction , and it is closely related with

7178-419: The studio and instead read books at home, surrounded by his growing family, and caught up on all the films he had missed while overseas in his private screening room. He did not return to take the reins until William Goetz , the man Zanuck had left in charge when he went off to war, left for a job at Universal . Zanuck's tenure in the 1940s and '50s resonated with his astute choices. He first personally rescued

7275-500: The studio system — Col. Frank Capra , Col. Anatole Litvak , Col. Hal Roach —were actually doing their cinematic jobs, often, like Zanuck, under enemy fire. Nonetheless, when Col. Zanuck was named in this investigation in 1944, the usually combative mogul uncharacteristically and abruptly resigned his commission and left the Army. Biographer Leonard Mosley suggests this to be because of an inadvertent security leak when Zanuck had mentioned

7372-430: The subgenre can be traced back to the early 20th century, emerging from a rich tapestry of literature that focused on the inner workings of the mind. As cinema evolved, filmmakers began to see the potential for the medium to explore complex psychological themes and narratives. Similar with these psychological genres, but rather than using imagery to provoke fear, suspense or terror, they utilize dramatic settings to elicit

7469-506: The subgenre is rather devoid of humor. Each films utilize a range of techniques to mirror the psychological landscape of their characters. Close-ups and subjective camera angles invite viewers into the character’s personal space, while disjointed editing and surreal imagery can reflect fragmented states of mind. The use of symbolism is also prevalent, with objects, settings, and colors imbued with psychological significance. Music and sound design play crucial roles, often used to heighten

7566-437: The subgenre, often employs several psychological and social elements. For example: Akira Kurosawa , a Japanese renowned filmmaker, known for his landmark filmography with the subgenre, notably Drunken Angel (1948) and Ikiru (1952). Each films including The Demon (1978), Batch '81 (1982), Silip (1986), Taare Zameen Par (2007), Himizu (2011), Aparisyon (2012), Like Father, Like Son and Norte,

7663-452: The titan who rose from working as the head of production at Warner Bros. to running Twentieth Century Fox. It was in the latter position that he supposedly begat the modern casting couch, holding conferences with a variety of starlets in his office every afternoon from 4-4:30 p.m." The article further adds that "As some have argued, he may have learned this malicious practice from fellow studio head Harry Cohn , chief of Columbia Pictures during

7760-467: The two reconciled and lived together in Palm Springs, and she cared for him at their home from the time he became mentally incapacitated in the early 1970s until his death in 1979. An October 2017 article by The Daily Beast , following the reporting of several sexual abuse cases committed by Harvey Weinstein reported that "For an origin to all this ugliness, one must turn to Darryl F. Zanuck,

7857-429: The viewer in a wrap-around image, Zanuck wrote an essay extolling widescreen's virtues, seeing the new formats as a "participatory" form of recreation, rather than mere passive entertainment, such as television. Cinerama was cumbersome, though, and used three (image) projectors simultaneously (plus a 4th projector for sound), potentially a hugely expensive investment. Fox, like every other studio, had rejected Cinerama when

7954-439: The wounded back to the ship. While Zanuck was on duty, 20th Century-Fox, like the other studios, contributed to the war effort by releasing a large number of their male stars for overseas service and many of their female stars for USO and war bond tours — while creating patriotic films under the often contentious supervision of a fledgling Office of War Information . Jack L. Warner, whose studio lot happened to be next door to

8051-682: Was The Sting . Darryl predicted it would win the Oscar, and it did. On January 12, 1924, at a time when he was a hopeful screenwriter, he married actress Virginia Fox , with whom he had three children, Darrylin, Susan Marie, and Richard Darryl . Fox retired from acting but became known as a behind-the-scenes influence on her husband's business decisions, as well as a prominent California hostess. The couple separated in 1956, after Zanuck had suddenly resigned from Twentieth Century-Fox to become an independent producer, over Zanuck's well-publicized affairs with other actresses, although they never legally divorced. In 1973, after Zanuck retired from filmmaking,

8148-512: Was Vice President of Production of this new studio and took a hands-on approach, closely involving himself in scripts, film editing , and producing. When the U.S. entered World War II at the end of 1941, he was commissioned as a colonel in the U.S. Army Signal Corps , but was frustrated to find himself posted to the Astoria studios in Queens, New York , and even worse, serving alongside

8245-420: Was a waste of money. Then Skouras flew to Paris to meet with a French inventor, Henri Chretien , who had created a new lens that just might be suitable. Though Fox shares immediately went up, Green found this an even more damning indication of Zanuck and Skouras's leadership and began readying his proxy fight for the May shareholder meeting. This meant that a CinemaScope process had to be publicly demonstrated to

8342-510: Was adapted for the screen by Frank Partos and Millen Brand , in screen credits order, and Arthur Laurents (uncredited). Virginia Cunningham is an apparently schizophrenic patient at a mental hospital called the Juniper Hill State Hospital. She hears voices and seems so out of touch with reality that she does not recognize her husband Robert. Dr. Kik works with her, and flashbacks show how Virginia and Robert met

8439-424: Was an early adopter and master of the whip pan scene transition device, and used it no fewer than eight times in this film. The critics were generally positive, with Louella Parsons declaring: "It is the most courageous subject ever attempted on the screen". Walter Winchell wrote: "Its seething quality gets inside of you." On Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on ten reviews, with

8536-464: Was an early advocate of widescreen projection. One of the first things Zanuck did when he returned to Fox in 1944 was to restart the research on a 50 mm film, shelved in the early 1930s as a cost-cutting measure (a larger-sized film print in the projector meant higher resolution). Impressed by a screening in Cinerama , a three- projector widescreen process, unveiled in 1952 that promised to envelop

8633-421: Was because of an anamorphic lens attached to the camera which squeezed the image while filming, and another lens on the projector which reverted the process, widening the image during screening. Implementing this was no easy matter. Directors, cameramen, and production designers were baffled by what to do with all that space. Zanuck encouraged them to spread the action across the screen, to take full advantage of

8730-903: Was carefully nurtured through his first film, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), based on a popular novel. It did so well, he chose Kazan to direct the first studio film on antisemitism , Gentleman's Agreement (1947), with Gregory Peck playing a Gentile reporter whose life falls apart due to implacable antisemitism emerging from friends and family when he pretends to be Jewish for an exposé. After Kazan triumphed in Tennessee Williams ' Broadway hit, A Streetcar Named Desire , he brought Kazan back to direct Pinky (1949), another film about prejudice , this time racial. The scathing theater world of Bette Davis 's aging actress in All About Eve (1950) went on to win six Oscars at

8827-425: Was never at the studio, seldom even in America. He seemed to have nothing on but more projects for Gilles. Quietly, eyeing a debt level whose interest they could hardly afford to pay, the nervous board members moved Richard to president and promoted his father to chairman , or more accurately, kicked the older man upstairs, which is how Zanuck began to perceive it. When Gilles' contract came up for renewal, Richard, for

8924-685: Was ousted from the studio he had founded and commanded for so long. He was the last Hollywood tycoon to fall. Richard went to work for Warner Brothers and forgave his father. They spoke on the phone. Virginia put her foot down and Gilles was gone. After so much blood on the floor, Darryl Zanuck was now back in the fold of his original family. When his health failed and he suffered a stroke, Zanuck returned to California and moved in with Virginia. They lived together again and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Richard moved to Universal Pictures with his producing partner, David Brown. They gave 26-year-old Steven Spielberg his first feature; their second movie

9021-636: Was plagued with production problems from the start. First, director David Lean pulled out of the Pearl Harbor retelling, and had to be hastily replaced by Richard Fleischer ; storms destroyed expensive exteriors, closing down production while they were rebuilt; then the Japanese co-director Akira Kurosawa , miffed by criticism of his early rushes, either really had or merely faked a nervous breakdown before his cast and crew and had to be hospitalized, shutting down production again. When finally finished,

9118-479: Was so mediocre and the script so unsatisfactory, that star Marlon Brando walked off the picture after the first read-through. He agreed to give Fox two other pictures rather than return. Her unintelligible accent helped sink not only the ponderous film, but also his long-enduring marriage, and indeed his life at the studio itself. In 1956, Zanuck withdrew from the studio and left his wife, Virginia Fox , to move to Europe and concentrate on independent producing with

9215-617: Was the first choice to play the role of Virginia, but was replaced by de Havilland when Tierney became pregnant. When the book The Snake Pit was still in galleys, the president of Random House , Bennett Cerf , showed it to his friend Anatole Litvak , who bought the rights. Litvak was born in Kiev to Lithuanian Jewish parents and learned filmmaking in Leningrad. He began his career as a director with films in Berlin, Paris, and London. Moving to

9312-553: Was treated as an authority because of his work on The Snake Pit. Thus, that film influenced the public's attitudes directly and had an effect upon elites who controlled budgets related to the mentally ill. The film was first released on home video in the United States on December 1, 1993. The Snake Pit was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on the April 10, 1950, broadcast of Lux Radio Theatre , with de Havilland reprising her film role. Psychological drama The roots of

9409-416: Was unsuccessful at the box office, and an attempt to make a film of One World , a memoir by politician Wendell Willkie of his tour of war-damaged Europe , a project that was aborted before shooting began. As television began to erode Hollywood's audiences in the early 1950s, widescreen presentation was thought to be a potential solution. The 1950 television set duplicated the near-square shape of

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