Cobra | |
---|---|
Directed by | Joseph Henabery |
Written by | Anthony Coldeway |
Based on | Cobra by Martin Brown |
Produced by | Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky |
Starring | Rudolph Valentino Nita Naldi Casson Ferguson Gertrude Olmstead |
Cinematography | Harry Fischbeck Dev Jennings (J. Devereaux Jennings) |
Edited by | John H. Bonn |
Production company | Famous Players–Lasky / Ritz-Carlton Films |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes / 7 reels (6,895 feet) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Cobra is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi. It is the screen adaptation of the play Cobra written by Martin Brown, which played at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway in 1924. [1]
Cobra has survived, and has been made available to the public on both VHS and DVD by independent film dealers and major movie distributors.
Count Rodrigo Torriani is an Italian noble and a charming libertine. His weakness is women, who mesmerise and fascinate him – not unlike the myth that cobras mesmerise their prey.
Roridgo accepts an invitation from friend Jack Dorning to come to New York City to work as an antiques expert. While the job is rewarding, Rodrigo finds the temptation from the women surrounding him, including Dorning's secretary Mary Drake and wife Elise, challenging.
When Jack is away, Elise says to Rodrigo that she is in love with him. The two embrace and arrange to meet at a hotel. However, after meeting in a room, Rodrigo decides that he cannot betray his friend and leaves the hotel. It turns out to be a fortunate decision; the hotel burns to the ground in the middle of the night, killing Elise.
Rodrigo desperately wants a relationship with Mary. However, after Elise's death, he turns Mary's attentions toward Jack and decides to leave New York. The film ends with Rodrigo gazing out at the sea and the Statue of Liberty as he sets sail back to Europe.
The production of Cobra was marred by bickering and soaring production costs. Furthermore, its studio Paramount Pictures, unhappy with the final film and fearing it would flop with audiences and critics, held off releasing it until Valentino (whose popularity had declined somewhat) appeared in a stronger, unequivocally successful picture. Eventually Cobra was released in late 1925, a few weeks after what proved to be Valentino's comeback feature, The Eagle (1925).
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella, known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,The Sheik,Blood and Sand,The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik.
Vilma Bánky was a Hungarian-American silent film actress. Although her acting career began in Budapest, and she later worked in France, Austria, and Germany, Bánky was best known for her roles in the American films The Eagle and The Son of the Sheik with Rudolph Valentino, and for several romantic teamings with Ronald Colman.
The Son of the Sheik is a 1926 American silent adventure drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky. The film is based on the 1925 romance novel The Sons of the Sheik by Edith Maude Hull, and is a sequel to the 1921 hit film The Sheik, which also stars Rudolph Valentino. The Son of the Sheik is Valentino's final film and went into general release nearly two weeks after his death from peritonitis at the age of 31.
Blood and Sand is a 1922 American silent drama film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Fred Niblo and starring Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee, and Nita Naldi. It was based on the 1908 Spanish novel Sangre y arena by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and the play version of the book by Thomas Cushing.
The Eagle is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, and Louise Dresser. Based on the posthumously published 1841 novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, the film is about a lieutenant in the Russian army who catches the eye of Czarina Catherine II. After he rejects her advances and flees, she puts out a warrant for his arrest, dead or alive. When he learns that his father has been persecuted and killed, he dons a black mask and becomes an outlaw. Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in The Mark of Zorro.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a 1921 American silent epic war film produced by Metro Pictures Corporation and directed by Rex Ingram. Based on the 1916 Spanish novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, it was adapted for the screen by June Mathis. The film stars Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard, Bridgetta Clark, Rudolph Valentino, Wallace Beery, and Alice Terry.
Nita Naldi was an American stage performer and silent film actress. She was often cast in theatrical and screen productions as a vamp, a type of character first popularized by actress Theda Bara.
Camille is a 1921 American silent drama film starring Alla Nazimova as Marguerite and Rudolph Valentino as her lover, Armand. It is based on the play adaptation La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, which was first published in French as a novel in 1848 and as a play in 1852. Camille is one of numerous screen adaptations of Dumas, fils' story. The film is set in 1920s Paris, whereas the original version takes place in Paris in the 1840s. It has lavish Art Deco sets; Rudolph Valentino later married the film's art director, Natacha Rambova.
The Young Rajah is a 1922 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino. The film was based on the book Amos Judd by John Ames Mitchell.
The Delicious Little Devil is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film starring Mae Murray and Rudolph Valentino. A 35 mm print of the film is housed at the EYE Film Instituut Nederland, Nederlands Filmmuseum.
Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 per week.
A Thief in Paradise is a 1925 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by George Fitzmaurice, and adapted by Frances Marion from Leonard Merrick's 1900 novel The Worldlings.
Harry Dunkinson was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1912 and 1935. He was born in New York City and died in California.
Gertrude Olmstead was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 56 films between 1920 and 1929. Her last name was sometimes seen as Olmsted.
A Sainted Devil is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Rudolph Valentino. The film was produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky.
Malcolm McGregor was an American actor of the silent era. McGregor appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1936. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and died in Hollywood, California.
A Trip to Paramountown is a 1922 American short silent documentary film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures, to celebrate 10 years of Paramount's founding. The film runs about 20 minutes and features many personalities then under contract to Famous Players–Lasky and Paramount.
The Lady Who Lied is a 1925 American silent melodrama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures and based on a novel by Robert Hichens. Edwin Carewe directed, and Nita Naldi, and Lewis Stone star. The film has the distinction of being the feature attraction of the gala opening of the Uptown Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on August 18, 1925.
Don't Call It Love is a 1923 American silent romantic comedy film directed by William C. deMille and written by Clara Beranger and Julian Street based upon the play Rita Coventry by Hubert Osborne. The film stars Agnes Ayres, Jack Holt, Nita Naldi, Theodore Kosloff, Rod La Rocque, and Robert Edeson. The film was released on December 24, 1923, by Paramount Pictures.
The Marriage Whirl is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alfred Santell and written by Bradley King. It is based on the 1922 play The National Anthem by J. Hartley Manners. The film stars Corinne Griffith, Kenneth Harlan, Harrison Ford, E. J. Ratcliffe, Charles Willis Lane, Edgar Norton, and Nita Naldi. The film was released on July 19, 1925, by First National Pictures.