Zarak

On the mountainous frontier between British India and Afghanistan, circa 1860s, Zarak Khan kisses Salma, the youngest wife of his father, Haji Khan. Outraged, his father orders Zarak to be flogged to death but spares his life at the urging of an elderly Mullah. Zarak now leaves his village and becomes a notorious outlaw, prompting the British to assign a Major Ingram to capture him. Zarak and Ingram have several encounters, developing a grudging respect for each other. When Ingram is captured by Ahmad, one of Zarak's rivals, Zarak risks his life to save the British officer.
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".
The original film poster was criticised by the House of Lords for "bordering on the obscene" and banned in the United Kingdom. The action sequences reappeared in John Gilling's The Bandit of Zhobe (1958) and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965).