This Schizophrenic Woman Doesn’t Speak. She Is Afraid. Watch The Doctor Help Her Recover

The Most Powerful Haunting Documentary On Mental Illness With REAL Patients. This is an extraordinary documentary made-for-TV in 1956. The producers were lucky to get the great Orson Welles to star and to read portions of a strange book written in the 1800s by a gentleman in a mental hospital describing what he saw and what he experienced. The woman you are watching has gone mute, suffering from catatonic schizophrenia. She was filmed behind a one-way glass and what you are watching they said, was real. It was filmed in the Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, Calif. presenting an actual record of three months in the life of one of the patients. Orson Welles was an iconic American actor, director, writer, and producer who is best known for his innovative work in radio, theater, and film. Born in 1915, he became a household name with his radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds“ in 1938, which led many listeners to believe that an actual alien invasion was occurring. This broadcast showcased his knack for inventive and persuasive storytelling. In film, Welles is most celebrated for “Citizen Kane“ (1941), a movie he co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in. “Citizen Kane“ is often cited by critics as one of the greatest films of all time due to its groundbreaking cinematography, narrative structure and character development. The therapy shown in this film to help the patient is surprisingly slow, consisting pretty much exclusively talk with the psychiatrist - his patience in asking questions and assuming that they don’t have to be answered is matched by the patience of the cameraman, lingering on faces and hands, waiting for breakthrough. I did not direct or shoot this. I was in high school. I have worked for the men who made this film, producer Irv Gitlin and writer Al Wasserman. This documentary is very unusual for one made in 1956. If you found this film of interest please consider supporting my efforts to present more clips like this by clicking the thanks button below the video screen or by becoming a patron at