Paramount had Dorothy Lamour; MGM had Hedy Lamarr, and universal had Maria Montez. She had been around for a few years when she made what is considered one of the biggest camp- fests in Hollywood history. You can keep your Jane Hudson and your Neely O'Hara's. Montez is two characters here, and it's a battle of good versus evil as they fight over the throne of a mystical kingdom where cobra rules, and the jewel is all powerful. In Technicolor, Montez is unforgettable. She's of course more fun to watch being evil, and as the youngest of twins, she is determined to hang onto her power no matter what. But after being separated from her older sister, she is determined not to be dethroned, even dealing with her grandmother Mary Nash who knows the truth. Once again, Montez has Sabu and Jon Hall as co-stars, protecting the kindly older sister, while Lon Chaney Jr. is branded to protect evil. Who can forget the scene of the evil Montez dancing around, dramatically pointing out victims for the sacrifice towards King Cobra, and the scene where the heavily accented Montez screeching, "Gif me da cobra jewel!" Montez goes beyond the visual of "She who must be obeyed" to create one of the most fascinating characters ever.

I think most of the critics of this movie miss the point entirely. Many of the 1940s movie stars were "personalities," groomed by their studios not to be great "actors," and subsequently built vehicles around them. Maria Montez had enormous charisma on screen, and although many of the reviews above make fun of her accent (which would not be permitted today), try looking at anyone else when she is on the screen. It's a fun movie -- definitely not for elitist reviewers, whose taste is for serious "acting". The great thing about the Golden Age of Hollywood Movies is the variety of movies, something for everyone. Today, sadly, there is no more Hollywood. Just about every "film" today (with some exceptions obviously) looks like a TV sitcom. It must have been a fun experience to go into a movie theater in the 1940s and see an escaptist movie like "Cobra Woman" instead of today when (and I don't bother anymore) one goes into a theater to see a variety of dreary, "true life" stories, performed by the current crop of supposedly "great actors." It would be interesting to be around in 60 years or so to see if people would remember (or even care about) the movies of today, as opposed to "Cobra Woman," which people seem to enjoy making fun of. I give it a 10 out of 10, solely because it was made to entertain, and for me it did.

This has to be one of the most hilarious bad films of all time. I gave it a 5: 1 for film but 10 for the fun (equals out to a 5). It has what was well on the way to becoming Maria's "stock company" Jon Hall, Sabu and Turhan Bey (except Cobra Woman was without Turhan Bey). Mary Nash plays, I think, the high-priestess of the Cobra Temple or maybe even Maria's nanny(it's been a while since I saw it and it's not available on VHS or DVD so you must depend on the very occasional TV showings to catch it)with her very best Maria Ouspenskaya (the slowest taking woman on the screen...by the time she finished you either forget what she was talking about or no longer cared!). The 2 Marias actually appeared in one film together, The Mystery Of Marie Roget. Pity there were no more. Maria did a couple of films with the always over-the-top Gale Sondergaard. A great pairing. Montez is responsible for two of the funniest moments in screen history; one from SUDAN (again the stock company but less Sabu). Jon Hall discoveries her in the desert, dying from lack of water...BUT...her hair is perfectly coiffed and not a touch of makeup is out of place. (Old Hollywood...don't you just love it!) And the other is in Cobra Woman. After they have overthrown both the high priest and Maria's evil twin sister (is there any other kind?)the country is without a ruler. Nash pleads with her to take possession of the Cobra Throne but she refuses, preferring to go away with Hall and Sabu on their fishing boat. Nash (in her very best Ouspenskaya) says to her: "But mine chhhild, your peep-ole neeed 'chu" Then, without even changing the expression on her face (which she seldom did anyway) Maria turns to her and utters the unforgettable line: "Gif me dah Cob-bra Jo-ols." In my mind still one of the most fall-down-funny lines in the history of film.

I once showed part of this film to a friend (now deceased.) who said testily that he'd seen it a long time ago. But once the Universal-International dancers' Cobra number got going, he said he was hooked and was literally rolling on the floor having forgotten how truly great it was! (This was, no doubt due to the consummate klutziness of these dancers!) One Maria is great but two are truly great and maybe she and her costar Jon Hall should have been cast in the infinitely greater "Thief of Bagdad" which did at least have Sabu. (Now maybe these two couldn't really act but then neither could the actual leading couple in "Thief".) A camp gem with the Queen of Technicolor.