Fun bit of silliness from Universal starring Maria Montez and Jon Hall. The biggest selling point is attractive Montez in Technicolor. The adventure and fantasy of it all is nothing much to get worked up over. Hall does fine. He's like a poor man's Tyrone Power. Sabu stinks up the joint as usual. He had a likable screen presence for sure but his line delivery was always dreadful. Then there's good old Lon Chaney Jr. It never ceases to amaze me how he was used at Universal during this time. One movie he's a star and the next he's playing a henchman. The same year this was released he was starring in the Inner Sanctum series as well as reprising his signature role as Larry Talbot in House of Frankenstein and playing Kharis for the final time in The Mummy's Curse. He certainly deserved better than roles like this one. Speaking of deserving better, Robert Siodmak directed this the same year he made three legitimately great films for Universal. Directors today could never. The main reason Cobra Woman is remembered at all is for Montez's campy performance. It's the stuff of legend. See it for her and the wonderful sets and costumes all in beautiful Technicolor.
Review of Cobra Woman
