Kora Terry

KORA TERRY is probably the most outlandish of all Marika Rokk films. The songs and musical numbers alone make this movie of the genre's best.

Masterfully directed by Marika's husband and mentor, Georg Jacoby, KORA TERRY holds the attention from start to finish. The many talents of Marika Rokk are continuously on display and it's her film all the way.

Singing, dancing and acrobatics are cleverly entwined with the film's plot. The "good twin" is as blonde as the "bad" one is dark, and the chiaroscuro cinematography of shadows and sunlight would presage Hollywood's film noir by a few years.

The singing styles of the two sisters are as different as their personalities, which gives Rokk a wide range in versatility. Singing and dancing together and separately, Rokk warbles everything from pop tunes to love ballads and the film ends with a rousing Bavarian folk dance that seems almost impossible for a Broadway stage to contain.

Marika Rokk, gorgeously costumed in outré European 40's fashions, is ravishingly beautiful and has three knock-out production numbers. The eye-popping "Cobra Dance" Kora does in an Algerian nightclub/casino is the highlight and must be seen to be believed. Thrillingly provocative, her exotic belly dance goes further than any Hollywood product at that time. An Arabian Nights fantasy comes to life as fakirs play the drums that make Marika rise from a smoking stone altar like a cobra from its basket. Marika writhes sensuously in veils and lame' bikini (complete with jewel in navel) as she coils a boa constrictor around her neck, then undulates while holding the snake to her face as it flicks its tongue at her lips.