Cobra Woman

High camp thrills aplenty in this richly dumb jungle melodrama about a bride-to-be kidnapped and taken to a mysterious island. There she discovers her evil twin sister is high priestess of a cobra-worshipping cult! Maria Montez, or "The Caribbean Cyclone" as she was better known, is something of a cult figure today, and her performance here as the dual protagonists is considered a career best. Alas, Robert Siodmak directs this bunkum with too straight a face, while Sabu and Lon Chaney Jr overact dreadfully in supporting roles. Given the reams of corny dialogue on offer, it's hard to believe the film was co-scripted by Richard Brooks, director of later classics Elmer Gantry and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Well, you've got to start somewhere!