movies_creation

American Movie Archives (美國電影檔案)

Title
Mental Hospital
Year
1953
Abstract
A University of Oklahoma Production. Produced for the Oklahoma State Department of Health in cooperation with the State of Oklahoma Department of Mental Health. Distributed by International Film Bureau. Director: Layton Mabrey. Scriptwriter: Dwight V. Swain. Coordinator: Jim Bragg. Photographer: Wayne Rock. G.F. Mathews, M.D., Commissioner, State Department of Health. Charles F. Obermann, M.D., Director, Department of Mental Health. Psychiatric Consultants: Charles A. Smith, M.D., A.A. Hellams, M.D. "Recognizable personages appearing in this film are not patients in a mental institution." (According to Dwight Swain, patients were played by producers, crew and friends, since actual patients weren't legally competent to sign talent releases.) Filmed in and around Central State Hospital, Norman, Oklahoma. Jack Stevenson's article on Swain and Hockman appears in Brutarian (Vol. 1, No. 1). Documents the case of a mental patient who is treated for schizophrenia (paranoid type) at the Oklahoma State Hospital. Summarizes the treatment of a patient from admission to the hospital to the time of discharge. Explains the methods used in the treatment of mental diseases and stresses the value of occupational therapy in rehabilitating patients and the need for an atmosphere of calm and security. TITLE CARD: Recognizable personages appearing in this film are not patients in a mental institution. PARANOIA / DEPRESSION / INSTITUTIONALIZATION: Man's voice over as he is driven down a gray, snowy road. HE IS VERY PARANOID. He leans his head against the rear window. There's a close up of his eyes, then hands, then mouth. Men in dark, tweed jackets lead him into the hospital. MEDICAL ABUSE: Nurses examine Joe. He has blood taken from his arms, a chest x-ray, and a spinal tap. PARANOIA: Joe talks to an Oklahoman psychiatrist (with a southern accent). He says, "They're turning my wife, you know, Peg, against me. They're taking up all of her time." Joe rings his hands. The psychiatrist replies, "Why do you think they're doing you this way?" Joe answers, "Well, I've been working on this for years. They don't know it but I'm on to them." PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: The narrator describes various treatments for psychological disorders, and we view these methods in action (which look somewhat barbarous to today's viewers). First there's insulin shot therapy in which a patient receives a shot (camera pans down to twitching feet), then electric shock, hydrotherapy, and cold pack therapy.
Notes
Produced: University of Oklahoma
Run Time: 0:19:58
Audio/Visual: sound, B&W
Keyword
need keyword
Theme
What? You're Smoking again? You're CURED!
Review
Pretty wild and dated exploration of what can happen once Uncle Charlie hits the looney ward. It starts off with a VERY curious title card which says 'Recognizable Personages appearing in this film are not patients in a mental hospital", I have absolutely no idea what that means. An unlucky man thinks that everyone is conspiring against him and he is shipped off to the mental hospital to get better. After bathing him (can't he do that himself?) giving him a shot, collecting spinal cord fluid (!!) from him, he's put through wacky psychological tests. I am not too sure what the picture test was, but I think it was "Spot the Loony". After that, he's put in front of doctors and nurses and evaluated (or put on display). From there comes treatment, which involves analysis, insulin and shock therapy (shown very mildly here, as if it were a cakewalk), and some rather odd treatment methods (Hydrotherapy and "Sedative Packs"). All throughout this, we see some shots of "mentally ill" people, some of which are, and some of which arent (aging seniors who aren't wanted anymore and yes, homosexuals). Soon, after treatment for awhile, the male subject we've been following greets his family and takes a cigarrette from the doctor. He's not shaking any more, so he must be well! Rather inspired lunacy, and is highly reccomended!
(Reviewer: Spuzz)
Location
A/V room, 2/F