USA,
1944, 70 min
Shown in 2001
CREDITS
- dir
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Robert Siodmak
- prod
-
George Waggner
- scr
-
W. Scott Darling, Gene Lewis, Richard Brooks
- cam
-
W. Howard Green, George Robinson
- editor
-
Charles Maynard
- mus
-
Edward Ward
- cast
-
Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Lon Chaney Jr.
- source
-
Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608. FAX: 818-866-1498
-
COMMENTS
Screened in conjunction with Kenneth Anger receiving the Persistence of Vision Award in 2001. Kenneth Anger in person.
OTHER
Director Robert Siodmak and screenwriter Richard Brooks collaborated on this escapist tale that unfolds like a Tom Swift adventure story on acid. Starring Jon Hall (Ramar of the Jungle on early ’50s TV) as the fearless explorer, Ramu; Sabu (yes, the elephant boy) as his faithful companion Kado; Lon Chaney Jr. as Hava, the saronged priest in a pointy green hat; Koko the chimpanzee; and the Queen of Technicolor, Maria Montez in the dual role of Tollea, the sweet-natured island girl and Naja, her evil twin who rules Cobra Island. The naive exoticism was box-office magic in 1944, and the film lives on as the very definition of a cult classic. Ramu is about to marry Tollea when she is kidnapped and taken to Cobra Island, not realizing that she is the long-lost twin of high priestess Naja, and the true heiress to the throne. When the “fire mountain” erupts, the evil Naja demands more human sacrifices. In the film’s crowning moment, Naja does the Cobra Dance (she’s got more moves than Lil’ Kim), her subjects make the Sign of the Cobra and Naja terminates her pronouncements with, “I have spoken.” Joseph Campbell will explain it all for you. This beautiful new print from Universal will be introduced by Kenneth Anger, recipient of the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award.
—Miguel Pendás
FACTOID #75
Italian screen siren and ’60s sex symbol Sophia Loren appeared in two films screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Ettore Scola’s A Special Day in 1977 and Francesco Rosi’s More Than a Miracle in 1981.
