mankind in the long run. He then dies. Abel is shown recovering from his ordeal in a psychiatric ward. The chief of police tells him that the circus has offered him his old job and forces him to accept the offer to begin right away. He also mentions that the Nazi party's latest attempt to seize power has failed. A voice-over reveals that Abel escaped from police custody on the way to the train station and was never seen again. Cast Liv Ullmann (Manuela Rosenberg) David Carradine (Abel Rosenberg) Gert Fröbe (Inspector Bauer) Heinz Bennent (Hans Vergérus) James Whitmore (Priest) Glynn Turman (Monroe) Georg Hartmann (Hollinger) Edith Heerdegen (Mrs Holle) (Miss Dorst) Fritz Straßner (Doctor Soltermann) Hans Quest (Doctor Silbermann) Wolfgang Weiser (Official) Paula Braend (Mrs. Hemse) Walter Schmidinger (Solomon) Lisi Mangold (Mikaela) Grischa Huber (Stella) Paul Bürks Toni Berger (Mr. Rosenberg) Erna Brunell (Mrs. Rosenberg) Isolde Barth Rosemarie Heinikel Andrea L'Arronge Beverly McNeely Hans Eichler (Max) Kai Fischer Harry Kalenberg Gaby Dohm Christian Berkel (Student) Paul Burian Charles Regnier Günter Meisner Heide Picha Günter Malzacher Hubert Mittendorf Hertha von Walther Ellen Umlauf Renate Grosser Hildegard Busse Richard Bohne Emil Feist Heino Hallhuber Irene Steinbeisser Production Elliott Gould claimed that Bergman had written the lead role for him, but that producer Dino De Laurentiis overruled it, with David Carradine cast in his place. The film was released one year after Bergman had left Sweden for Germany following a tax-evasion charge. Reception The Serpent's Egg opened to mostly negative reviews from critics. In the Chicago Reader, Dave Kehr opined that Bergman "comes very close to camp" and argued that the suffering throughout the work "... has no shape or substance, apart from pointing out that Nazis and their progenitors were not nice people." Roger Ebert wrote that "... there is no form, no pattern, and when Bergman tries to impose one by artsy pseudo-newsreel footage and a solemn narration, he reminds us only of the times he has used both better." The film holds a rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes from 20 reviews. References External links The Serpent's Egg, A Film PDF The Serpents Egg PDF 1977 films 1977 drama films German drama films 1970s English-language films English-language German films English-language Swedish films 1970s German-language films Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman Films set in 1923 Films set in