“Snake Pit” with Olivia de Haviland, comes to mind. A great, but disturbing movie. Alot of those old movies revolved around characters in the insane asylum.
I remember one with Bette Davis but can’t remember the title. I’m kinda old. ;-)
DeNiro's Taxi Driver character, Travis Bickle, used to hold his hand over a flame to test his endurance. First thing that came to mind when I read the headline.