Silent Film Sources - Reviews

Setting by William Cameron Menzies. Photography by J.D. Jennings & Harry A Fishbeck. 

Edited by John H. Bonn. First Asst. Director Richard Johnston. Second Asst. Director Barton Adams. Costume designs by Adrian. Executed by Lillian M. Turner. Technical Director Eugene Hornbostel. Pass by the National Board of Review. 

There are times when friendship becomes the most important thing in a man's life, stronger than love, equal to any sacrifice-- even that of love itself. 

One of Rudolph Valentino's independent productions, Cobra is a handsome film, and after the powdered wigs of the previous year's Monsieur Beaucaire, it is welcome to see Valentino in modern clothes. Virtually the entire story takes place indoors on gorgeously appointed sets designed by William Cameron Menzies. 

Although based on a stage play, Cobra feels like a story written by a succession of writers. The first writes the opening scene in Italy to establish Valentino's character as an incorrigible womanizer. The second author throws in a historical flashback. With a minimal transition, the third author takes the story to Manhattan with an entirely different mood introducing Valentino to good-girl Gertrude Astor. The fourth writer sends the plot in a new direction with Valentino and vamp Nita Naldi, and so it goes. 

The opening sequence is a delight- a faux Lubitsch scene as Valentino escapes from the vengeful father of one of his many girlfriends. The irate papa misidentifies a passerby as the guilty party, and Valentino emerges to vouch for the innocence of the accused. Joseph Henabery, a Griffith disciple, was no Lubitsch, nor even a Monta Bell, but he still manages to pull off the sequence smartly. 

The historical sequence is another delight as Valentino tries to demonstrate to his friend the hereditary nature of his difficulty with women. In a flashback to one of Valentino's nobleman ancestors, an irate husband is about to interrupt Rudy with the man's wife, so Valentino hides her behind a convenient wall curtain. When the husband storms in, Valentino disappoints him by showing him a different woman in hiding. Satisfied, the husband leaves, but his very annoyed wife emerges to chide Valentino for his infidelity. 

Another highlight is a little throwaway scene where Valentino insists to Gertrude Olmstead, the secretary he desires but resists his advances, that he has given up his womanizing. As they are getting into his car, a woman in a passing car blows him a kiss. He tries to explain, and Olmstead begins to smirk, he realizes it is foolish to continue, and they dissolve in laughter. 

Oddly, much of the key 'action' in the film occurs offscreen. A potentially big scene of a fatal hotel fire is communicated by a newspaper article (possibly the result of the film being financed by the owners of the Ritz-Carlton hotel). Valentino, an actor with tremendous magnetism, is romancing women throughout the film- at one point he identifies himself as what would now be called a sexual predator- but there are no love scenes. Valentino says "women fascinate me, as the cobra does its victim," but we never see anyone get bitten! 

While there are some moments of self-satire, the film tries to be both serious and tongue-in-cheek. The best Douglas Fairbanks films could be both at the same time; the best Cobra can manage is to alternate between them. At one point a doctor warns Valentino of the health of his friend: "I am afraid of a nervous breakdown- he must be watched every moment- the slightest shock might unsettle his brain." Despite this howler, the plot thread, like many others, never leads anywhere.  Fortunately, the version of Cobra on video from Kino on Video and on laserdisc from Image Entertainment shows the film to its finest advantage. Working from a nitrate lavender master positive, the laserdisc and video are sharp and clear, except for shots obviously photographed soft-focus for effect. The score of period music was compiled by Rodney Sauer and performed by the Mont Alto Theatre Orchestra. While the end credits only list five performers it sounds like more, and the music provides the right balance of playfulness and emotional support, at times saving Cobra from self-satire. (Review © 1998 David Pierce)