''Cobra'' is a 1925 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery (January 15, 1888 – February 18, 1976) of Omaha, Nebraska, was a film actor, screenplay writer, and director in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's controversial 1915 sile ...

and starring

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

and

Nita Naldi Nita Naldi (born Mary Nonna Dooley; In this reference Naldi's birth name Nonna is mistakenly cited “Donna”. Naldi's birthname in this reference is also incorrectly cited as “Donna”. November 13, 1894 – February 17, 1961) was an Ameri ...

. It is the screen adaptation of the play ''Cobra'' written by Martin Brown, which played at the

Hudson Theatre The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the Hudson was built ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1924.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Cobra''
at the silentera.com ''Cobra'' has survived, and has been made available to the public on both VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by independent film dealers and major movie distributors.

Plot

Valentino plays Count Rodrigo Torriani, an Italian noble. A charming libertine, his weakness is women, who mesmerise and fascinate him – hence the "cobras" referred to in the title of the film, based on the myth that cobras mesmerise their prey. Roridgo accepts an invitation from friend Jack Dorning (Ferguson) to come to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 (Olmstead) and wife Elise (Naldi), 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 The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

as he sets sail back to Europe.

Cast

as Count Rodrigo Torriani *

as Elsie Van Zile *

Casson Ferguson Casson Ferguson (May 29, 1891 – February 12, 1929) was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1917 and 1928. His father was John J. Ferguson, a jeweler in Alexandria, Louisiana. Early in his ...

as Jack Dorning *

Gertrude Olmstead Gertrude Olmstead (November 13, 1897 – January 18, 1975) 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. Career Olmstead was born in Chicago, Illinoi ...

as Mary Drake * Hector V. Sarno as Victor Minardi *

Claire De Lorez Claire de Lorez (August 12, 1895 – September 21, 1985) was an American film actress of the silent era.Goble p. 258 Partial filmography * ''The Scuttlers'' (1920) * '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1921) * ''The Queen of Sheba'' (19 ...

as Rosa Minardi *

Eileen Percy Eileen Percy (August 1902 – 29 July 1973) was an Irish-born American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1917 and 1933. Biography Born in Belfast in August 1902, Percy lived in Brooklyn, New York, briefly ...

as Sophie Binner *

Lillian Langdon Lillian Langdon (November 25, 1860 – February 8, 1943) was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1928. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Langdon was a descendant of Montgomery Pike, dis ...

as Mrs. Porter Palmer * Henry Barrows as the store manager *

Rosa Rosanova Rosa Rosanova (June 23, 1869 – May 29, 1944) was a Russian-born stage and film actress. She appeared in numerous American films as a starring or supporting actress in the 1920s and 1930s Biography Born in Russia, Rosanova completed he ...

as Marie (uncredited) *

Natasha Rambova Natacha Rambova (born Winifred Kimball Shaughnessy; January 19, 1897 – June 5, 1966) was an American film costume designer, set designer, and occasional actress who was active in Hollywood in the 1920s. In her later life, she abandoned design ...

as A Dancer (uncredited)

Production

The production of ''Cobra'' was marred by bickering and soaring production costs. Furthermore, its studio

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, 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 The eagle is a large bird of prey. Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to: Places England * Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village United States * Eagle, Alaska, a city * Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place * Eagle, Colorado, a statuto ...

'' (1925).

References

External links

* * *{{Internet Archive film, id=Cobra_784, name=Cobra 1925 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Joseph Henabery 1925 drama films Silent American drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films