When I came home this evening I heard my apartment mate, speaking with someone on the phone, say "but Cobra Woman sure as heck isn't Shakespeare; it's nineteen forties kitsch".
Of course I disagree. Precisely that type of technicolor extravaganza could very well be Shakespeare. If Shakespeare were a successful moviemaker in Hollywood during the forties.
It's not kitsch. It's art.
Sultry & exotic.
Genius.
From Wikipedia:
"Cobra Woman is a 1944 American south seas adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak starring Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Sabu. Shot in Technicolor, this film is typical of Montez's career at Universal Pictures, and, although mostly forgotten today by the general public, venerated ....... for its legendary phallic snake-dance, and Montez's immortal words: "Geev me the Cobra jewl".
Avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger has called it his favourite film. "
That right there shows the multiple layers of this profound film. I did not realize the snake-dance was phallic when I first saw it. Several times.
But perhaps it is.
It probably depends on the individual viewer, though.
If you think phallic, you may see phallic.
I am cleanminded, so I don't.
And didn't.
Maria Montez was one of the greatest actresses of the forties.
This movie showcases her talents.
See it.
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