COBRA (1925) Rudolph Valentino as Italian and 50 similar items

Vintage original 8x10 in. U.S. single-weight glossy photograph from the silent film drama/romance, COBRA, released in 1925 by Paramount Pictures and directed by Joseph Henabery, based upon the play by Martin Brown. Rudolph Valentino stars as a penniless skirt-chasing Italian nobleman who finds love and scandal when he travels to New York City. The image depicts an exterior night scene featuring a long shot of the handsome Italian Count Rodrigo Torriani (Rudolph Valentino), wearing a dark jacket with white pants and a black beret, as he mediates an argument between his friend, Jack Dorning (Casson Ferguson), standing to Valentino's right, and another man as the group of people watch to see what might happen. It is in very good- condition with a 0.75 in. diagonal chip on the tip right corner; signs of wear, discoloration, and a few ink smudges in the borders; and several large scratches in the top half of the image area that do not affect the faces of the actors. The image quality is razor-sharp and features very nice contrast. Cobra was the first film from the production company of star Rudolph Valentino and his wife, Natacha Rambova, who had a small part. Reportedly, Rambova began to rewrite the script almost immediately after filming began, and made such a mess of it that the studio called in veteran screenwriter June Mathis to do a complete rewrite. Rambova was initially brought on to design sets and costumes but became "bored" and left to work on another project. Director Joseph Henabery later admitted that none of the cast members of this film would have been his first choices, had he been given any say in the matter. He also didn't like the script and was very sick throughout the production due to the lack of heating at the studio. Cobra; Paramount Pictures; 1925; dir: Joseph Henabery, cast: Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, Casson Ferguson, Gertrude Olmstead, Hector V. Sarno, Claire de Lorez, Eileen Percy, Lillian Langdon, Henry A. Barrows, Rosa Rosanova.