The Bridegroom, the Actress, and the Pimp

Overview

Three sequences are linked together in this short film by Straub; the first sequence is a long tracking shot from a car of prostitutes plying their trade on the night-time streets of Germany; the second is a staged play, cut down to 10 minutes by Straub and photographed in a single take; the final sequence covers the marriage of James and Lilith, and Lilith’s subsequent execution of her pimp, played by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. "The film is a look entirely at Western decadence" - Jean-Marie Straub.

Cast

Irm Hermann

Desiree

Kristin Peterson

Irene

Hanna Schygulla

Lucy

Peer Raben

Willi

Rudolf Waldemar Brem

Petrell

Jimmy Powell

James

Lilith Ungerer

Lilith

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

the pimp