Heino Hallhuber
Made during Bergman's tax-related exile in Germany, the film continues the story of Katarina and Peter Egermann, the feuding, childless, professional couple who appear in one episode of "Scenes From A Marriage." After Peter perpetrates a horrendous crime in its first scene, the rest of the film consists of a non-linear examination of his motivations, incorporating a police psychological investigation, scenes from the Egermanns' married life, and dream sequences.
The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World War I.
At the behest of his father, the young Karl Valentin is to complete a carpentry apprenticeship. When the father gets into a financial mess by a strict creditor, the boy works with growing success as a comedian to support his parents financiall
(A)lter (A)ction, 1968. Videotape, black-and-white, sound; 65 minutes (director's edit: 57 minute television version).
