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Mental Hospital (1953)

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Film Description

Mental Hospital (1953)
 Sponsors: Oklahoma State Dept. of Health; Oklahoma State Dept. of Mental Health. Production Co.: University of Oklahoma. Director: Layton Mabrey. Writer: Dwight V. Swain. Camera: Wayne Rock. Transfer Note: Scanned from a 16mm print held by the Library of Congress. Running Time: 19 minutes.

Case study documenting a patient’s treatment for paranoid schizophrenia. Made for health professionals, Mental Hospital shows daily life at the state facility, including hydrotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy sessions. The film ends with the patient’s discharge.

Note: Shot at the Central State Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma. Since patients were not legally competent to sign releases, the producer recruited crew and friends for the cast.

Resources
Educational Film Locator of the Consortium of University Film Centers and R.R. Bowker Company (New York and London: R.R. Bowker Co., 1978), 1402.