Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Micitype Pretty Good

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

wes-connors In Italy, handsome nobleman Rudolph Valentino (as Rodrigo "Rod" Torriani) has difficulty managing creditors and lovesick female admirers. While avoiding a creditor and daughter, Mr. Valentino comes to the assistance of wrongly accused American antique dealer Casson Ferguson (as Jack Dorning), who has been mistaken for Valentino. The men become fast friends, and Mr. Ferguson brings Valentino to live and work with him in America. Valentino wants to curb his promiscuity, and Ferguson promises to help...In New York, most women find Valentino irresistible. He is immediately attracted to Ferguson's secretary Gertrude Olmstead (as Mary Drake), though she is secretly in love with her boss. Valentino is startled to discover New York City is full of desirable and available women. He soon returns to his promiscuous ways. Out on the town, Valentino meets alluring gold-digger Nita Naldi (as Elise Van Zile). She pursues Ferguson for money and Valentino for sex. A hotel room is the meeting place for Naldi and several men. This threatens the friendship between Valentino and Ferguson. It may also mean tragedy..."Cobra" (referring to the predatory characters played by both Valentino and Ms. Naldi) was another production which increased the control Valentino had over his films. At the time, many considered it a disappointment, thinking the star and companion Natacha Rambova had lost touch. The story centered around men's friendship instead of passionate romance, and Valentino kept his clothes on. But, it was nicely produced, Naldi added her usual spark, and Valentino got his desired chance to emote during the closing minutes. This film was produced instead of "The Hooded Falcon", and completed before "The Eagle" (1925).***** Cobra (11/30/25) Joseph Henabery ~ Rudolph Valentino, Casson Ferguson, Gertrude Olmstead, Nita Naldi

sunlily It's amazing to me that this compelling Valentino drama didn't do better when it was released! Maybe the audiences of the time wouldn't accept him as anything but the sizzling sheik, but this is an entertaining melodrama. The good news is that since it wasn't shown much, it leaves us with a pristine print. It's a good story with fine acting all around, particularly from Rudolph and Nita Naldi, one of the silent screens most scintillating vamps.Rudy plays Count Rodrigo Torriani, a charming Itallian ladies man who's always in hot water with the ladies. There are some fine comedic moments at the beginning of the movie when the Count is trying to get himself out of one of these unfortunate situations where his Latin gestures say more than words ever could! During the course of this incident, he meets Jack Dorning,an Ameican antiques dealer who persuades him to come to America and work with him. Upon arrival, the Count falls for Dorning's pretty assistant Mary Drake,played by Gertrude Olmstead, who embodies all the feminine virtues that the Count has secretly been looking for.The plot thickens as the Count gets himself into more trouble in America by attracting the attention of spoiled society girl Elise, played with aplomb by Nita Naldi. Although she later marries his boss, Jack Dorning, she continues to pursue him with all the wiles at her disposal. There is a sizzling seduction scene where Miss Naldi is dressed in a sexy gown created especially for the movie. The music during this scene conveys the intensity of the moment, and adds to the imagery of woman as cobra, ready to squeeze the life out of an unsuspecting victim.The movie is slow moving to start, and the ending may seem banal to current audiences, but see this one for an unusual Valentino performance, the lavish production values,and an absolutely beautiful print!

ducdebrabant Rudy is very good, especially in the comedic parts. The story isn't much, and it would have helped if either of his leading ladies had been Vilma Banky (the less said about the desiccated-looking Gertrude Olmstead the better). But Nita Naldi's appeal is at least more apparent here than in "Blood and Sand," and her clothes, by Adrian, do a lot for her. What's more, though she's a bad girl, she's a believable one. The film should be seen for Rudy's charm, for William Cameron Menzies' very, very effective production design, and for the fact that the DVD is made from an absolutely gorgeous, velvety, pristine, 35 mm print. It looks better than any other DVD I'm aware of with Valentino. A hotel fire, which we learn about from a newspaper, should have been portrayed. It's really an obligatory scene, and the movie is rather naked without it. It might have put the picture in the hit category, had it been done well.

pocca In "Cobra," Rudolph Valentino once again plays a lady killer, but one who is miles away from the nostril flaring bodice ripper of "The Sheik." Rodrigo Torriani, a suave Italian nobleman dressed in the latest fashions, is a far cooler sort of Casanova, one who seems more amused than stimulated by his seductions. Valentino, although often accused of overacting, modulates his delivery to suit this more detached character and for the most part plays Rodrigo is a subtle, understated manner. The film openly very strongly, with Rodrigo deftly outmaneuvering the enraged father of his latest conquest and an entertaining flashback to Rodrigo's womanizing Renaissance fore-bearer, also played by Valentino (even though the film is set in modern times, it looks like the screenwriters couldn't resist putting Valentino in a costume). The title refers to the femme fatale lead, but Rodrigo is the true cobra of this film.Unfortunately, the film falters once Rodrigo is convinced by a rich American tourist, Jack Dorning, to come work for him as an antique dealer. Aside from an amusing bit in which a screeching floozy tries to blackmail Rodrigo, most of the middle part of the film is taken up with a meant to be torrid, but unconvincing affair between Rodrigo and Elise Van Zile, played by Nita Naldi. Valentino's scenes with Naldi in "Blood and Sand" had real heat, but Naldi seems a tad matronly here, and even more seriously there is not enough interaction between Rodrigo and Elise to convince us that they find each other irresistible. When Rodrigo meets Elise for the first time (who seems more shy than seductive), he almost immediately passes her off to Jack even though he is supposedly smitten with her (as suggested by an unintentionally funny bit in an which an Art Nouveau knickknack portraying a snake suddenly morphs into Elise). The next thing we know, Jack and Elise are a married couple. However, we are meant to believe that all along there has been a smoldering attraction between Rodrigo and Elise, until finally Elise cannot stand it any longer and pleads with him to make love to her. Because we really haven't been prepared for this moment Elise simply comes across as a stalker for much of this scene.Another problem (perhaps more so for modern audiences) is Rodrigo's noble sacrifice of yet another woman to his good pal Jack, in this case his pretty but bland secretary, out of guilt for his supposed role in the death of Elise. This well meaning gesture, typical of silent films, doesn't bear much scrutiny. It doesn't take the woman's feelings into consideration at all (she loves Rodrigo, not Jack) and is at heart condescending--is Jack so incapable of finding his own women? Plus, one might cynically ask, hasn't Rodrigo learned from recent experience that such forced, one-sided relationships tend to end badly? Valentino does do a good job emoting the pain his sacrifice is causing him, though.A good role for Valentino, but otherwise a disappointing movie.