Zarak

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Zarak
Directed by Terence Young
Produced by Irving Allen
Albert R. Broccoli
Written by Richard Maibaum
Starring Victor Mature
Michael Wilding
Anita Ekberg
Music by William Alwyn
Cinematography Ted Moore
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) 1956
Running time 99 min.
Country U.K.
Language English
IMDb profile

Zarak is a 1956 film based on the novel by A.J. Bevan.

Set in northern India, (though filmed in Morocco), the film starred Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Anita Ekberg, and featured Patrick McGoohan in a supporting role. Often classified as a minor piece of "escapism," this 99-minute film nevertheless boasted a surprising amount of emerging film talent. Ted Moore, who handled some of the Technicolor/CinemaScope photography, later performed similar work on the early James Bond films, and art director John Box and costume designer Phyllis Dalton later won Oscars for their work on Doctor Zhivago. Richard Maibaum, who adapted A.J. Bevan's novel, went on to adapt such Ian Fleming novels as Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger. Similarly, the Director, Terence Young and the Producer, Albert R. Broccoli went on to create the Bond movies.

Patrick McGoohan portrays Moor Larkin, an Adjutant to Michael Wilding's character who has a penchant for billiards, as well as offering sensible, albeit ignored, advice. This role created a considerable stir in the British cinema magazine, Picturegoer. Margaret Hinxman, the doyen of film critics, made Patrick McGoohan her 'Talent Spot'. She assured her readers that this new face would be 'really something', given a 'half-decent' part. Her admiration was remarkable, in that she completely slated the film, Zarak, itself, describing it as 'absurd'.


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Zarak is also the name of a small village in Afghanistan: http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AF/8/Zarak2.html