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The Cobra get a qualified endorsement for a couple of plot twists and some unintended humor. Dana Andrews as Capt. Kelly mails it in. There is one scene where he is driving and slurring his lines reminiscence of Otis in Mayberry. The Jerk leading man Mike Rand (Pietro Martellanza ) just won't quit with the tough guy stuff. There is a great cameo by an actor named Changie who plays the evil Chinese National Li Fang. Where else can you find a Euro-Spy where the leading man quotes a passage from the Koran? This one is for Euro-Spy fans only and just barely.

The movie starts off well enough with a cheesy rock score by Anton Garcia Abril that leads into a cool psychedelic credit sequence but it's all downhill from there. Peter Martell, who made a lot of spaghetti westerns, is a less than likable lead; a swarthy brute with John Wayne delivery who's always getting the gun knocked out of his hand. Martell is Mike Rand, an ex-Treasury agent who, we are told, was discharged from a high security post `for the good of the nation.' He must be a bad boy, all right.

Rand says `man' a lot and sweatily muscles his way into bed with the high-class likes of Anita Ekberg. Her name's Lou and she runs a women's spa when she's not shooting up drugs. Ekberg looks pretty darn good for a strung out junkie but she's not given nearly enough to do here.

The other big star, the one who's given way too much to do is Dana Andrews. Andrews is Kelly, Rand's boss, and he's in on a surprising amount of the action in the film. One wonders why, exactly. Andrews seems pretty deep into the sauce and his boot-blacked hair doesn't melt away the years the way they thought it would.

To sum up, aside from a couple of bright spots, this is not really a good or fun film. You would have to be in a pretty tight spot to want to spend your time with Mike Rand, man.

This Italian spy film is ludicrous yet amusingly preposterous. The plot kicks off with the US Government calling back Mike Rand, described as "their best Middle East agent," to hunt down "The Cobra." Initially, G-man Dana Andrews mistakenly believes The Cobra to be either a drug cartel or a crime lord. Rand's mission weaves through a maze involving oil magnates, drug enforcement bodies, and even the United Nations, all in a bid by the US Treasury to halt opium trafficking to America. As Rand edges closer to his goal, the body count rises alarmingly.

THE COBRA is a peculiar Euro-spy flick that struggles with the motions of a thriller. The film suffers from occasionally amateurish editing and staging. While Istanbul's scenery adds interest, the film overall offers little in terms of engagement. The narrative is predictable with minimal twists and lacks ingenuity. The excessively prolonged finale, featuring endless sneaking around with minimal action, further detracts from its appeal.

Pietro Martellanza (Peter Martell), portraying Rand, displays a limited range of emotions, primarily looking gloomy, which undermines the film's impact from the start. Anita Ekberg manages to shine in a limited role, whereas Dana Andrews, in a significant part, delivers a notably poor performance, especially during a scene where he drives while clearly impaired, struggling with his lines. Elisa Montes appears briefly as a potential double agent, and her presence is a welcome, albeit small, addition.

The film's dialogue often borders on the ridiculous, highlighted by a scene where a Japanese drug lord dramatically declares, "We will send you tons of drugs! DRUGS will spread!" In another moment, Rand's request for whiskey from a waiter, followed by his demand for a funnel instead of ice and soda, exemplifies the movie's attempt at humor amidst its purported "serious" espionage theme.