What a nice guy! Maybe it's just my cynical way of thinking, but I doubt many people in Robert Cunningham's situation would/could have been so loyal, kind, and loving to their significant other.
True. It's hard to believe he would have been so patient and it was a difficult role to play. I thought Mark Stevens did an excellent job.
shareI know, being someone who suffers from mental illness myself, having that support behind you means everything. My husband has been put through the ringer, and I don't know what I'd do without him. I can only hope that Mary Jane Ward's real husband was as supportive, as the character in the film.
shareI did feel that was one flaw with the film: the character of the husband, who had to be going through a great deal of anguish and confusion, was rather short-changed. Of course, he was not the focus of the film, but he started out as a strong part of the film and then was just kind of dropped except for brief appearances in the second half. Oh well, I suppose they did not want a three hour film, lol!
shareAs I was watching this film, I kept hoping that the husband would continue to stand by Virginia. For once, I wasn't disappointed.
We'll see whose the filthiest person alive! We'll just see!
They did cut a scene that was filmed where the husband (Mark Stevens) visits Virginia while she is in the straight-jacket after her collapse. I guess they felt it was really not necessary but I wish they kept it in.
They also cut the scene where Grace (Celeste Holm) has a relapse and ends up in a straight-jacket. There's a still on the DVD of THE SNAKE PIT that shows Celeste Holm behind a wire fence with Olivia on the outside looking sympathetically at her friend.
This occurs just before the dance scene at the end of the movie. Zanuck figured the audience already had gone through enough harrowing scenes with Olivia's relapse and wouldn't want to see Grace having her own setback. For Celeste, it must have come as a disappointment to have her big scene cut. That's why her role in the film is so brief.
Yes, you couldn't ask for a better husband. OTOH, it would probably be better for him had he divorced her if he ever wanted to become a father. Mental illnesses don't just go away. People live with them for the rest of their lives. Women like this might not handle motherhood very well.
shareHi RubyHypatia,
My aunt suffered from mental illness (schizophrenia)and had a husband as loving as the character Mark Stevens portrayed in The Snake Pit. They were a very religious couple and went on to have three children, two of whom went on to have very successful lives. My aunt was a very sweet woman but continued having issues until she died.
I just can't help but think of Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her five children because of mental insanity. I would never push parenthood on someone who has been mentally unstable. If parenthood is one of your dreams in life, find a sane person to procreate with. In the end it's best for the children.
shareLike 99% of life, the truth is in the grey area.
Mental instability ranges from very occasional bouts of clinical depression or anxiety to disabling schizophrenia, and everything in between. If we took everyone who fits somewhere on that continuum out of the breeding pool, we'd eventually vanish as a species all together.
Sure, don't reproduce with a violent or completely withdrawn, un-medicated sufferer. But on the other end of the spectrum lie some fabulous, compassionate, intelligent, capable people. It would be our social loss to shun them as potential mates and parents.
I couldn't agree more, it was nice to see a supportive husband in the movie. You could tell her husband took their marriage vows very seriously, "For better or worse" and really cared for her. I feel a lot people in his situation would try and quietly get a divorce if possible.
I thought the scene at the end where he put her wedding ring on before they left was really sweet.
Yes loved his character. He was very sweet.
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