Zarak le valeureux

This desert-set adventure flick exemplifies the subtle difference between Hokum and Camp: recently, I had watched its star, Victor Mature, in THE VEILS OF BAGDAD (1953) – spirited, tongue-in-cheek and generally exuding an air of unpretentious low-budget professionalism, it falls firmly into the former category; ZARAK, on the other hand, tries to be serious (with its religious/political undertones and calling into question familial/patriotic loyalties at times of stress) but is so relentlessly high-strung as to emerge a fount of virtually uninterrupted (but clearly unintended) hilarity!

These are too numerous to cite and most have, in any case already subsided in my memory, but I can't fail to mention Mature's irrepressible resourcefulness – though very obviously doubled at times – when aroused (including high-kicking his opponents and vigorously hacking away at a rope-bridge on which his arch-nemesis Michael Wilding is hanging for dear life), stoicism in the face of torture and impending death and, particularly, his wallowing in self-pity (and hysterically funny subsequent haunting) after unwittingly bludgeoning to death the current Mullah of the mosque – who had actually interceded for Mature during a public flogging and does the same, much to the latter's evident chagrin, for the British Major at the aforementioned bridge sequence! That is not to say ZARAK is a bad film in the strict sense of the word: for one thing, there's plenty of action throughout (some of it actually borrowed from the classic Alexander Korda production of THE FOUR FEATHERS [1939]!) – but, to be sure, the narrative is inordinately muddled for this type of film (not only in delineating the plot or the hero's motivations, but also by having such a prominent character as that of Bernard Miles vanish altogether halfway through)!

This was the second of six British-made actioners featuring Hollywood hunk Mature, filmed virtually back-to-back and after which his career would slowly grind to a stand-still; for the record, the others – none of which I've watched – were SAFARI (1956), INTERPOL (1957; also with co-star Anita Ekberg), THE LONG HAUL (1957), NO TIME TO DIE (1958) and the somewhat similar THE BANDIT OF ZHOBE (1959; actually directed by the co-story writer of this one, John Gilling). Sexy in scantily-clad attire, Ekberg even gets to perform a sultry exotic dance but is otherwise underused here; Wilding is as ineffectual playing the stiff-upper-lipped cavalry officer after Mature as the latter is wooden in Afghan tinge and garb(!), Miles appears as the star's one-eyed comic relief sidekick (at one point drooling over the heroine's writhing and to which he's vainly attempting to draw his brooding partner's attention), while Finlay Currie is – what else? – the earnest but ill-fated Holy Man. Apart from these, the supporting cast includes: Bonar Colleano (as one of Zarak's treacherous younger siblings), Frederick Valk (in his last role as his tyrannical father), Eunice Gayson (best-known for first eliciting the celebrated trademark response of "Bond, James Bond" – in DR. NO [1962], of course – is here Wilding's ingenuous bride) and Patrick McGoohan (youthful but already imposing in what is presumably his first sizeable part in a film as Wilding's aide). The behind-the-scenes credits are similarly notable – several of whom would soon prove instrumental in cementing the 007 image into the public consciousness.

"Zarak" gets off to a roaring start - with us entering the Arabian village where Anita Ekberg's character lives with her old husband, being acquainted with her lusty relationship with his son (Victor Mature) and the father catching them in the act and sentencing them both to death - all within the first ten minutes of the film!!!! After that, it sort of delves into non-stop rebel war fighting scenes, which aren't that engrossing or all that well filmed - only momentarily catching up with Ekberg and her turgid relationship with Mature here and there. There are some very "American" touches of humour which clearly separate this US sword and sandal flick from the much more common Italian ones. But Anita Ekberg's scantily-clad dances, and sizzling seduction scenes are reason enough to seek out this title and sit through the yawn- inducing battle scenes which make up most of the movie.

In the 1950s and 60s, the buxom Swedish actress Anita Ekberg was a hot commodity. She made quite a few films and was very popular. Why then did someone decide that "Zarak" was a good film for her...playing one of the wives of an Afghan king?! Smudged with brown paint, you can STILL tell it's Ekberg and her blonde hair certainly stands out in a movie set in Afghanistan! Who thought this would be a good idea? Certainly no one with a functioning brain!

While not nearly as bad, the film also features a lot of non-Afghans playing roles for which they aren't suited, such as Victor Mature in the lead. He looked more at place as an Afghan but still was wrong for the part...as were all the many blonde dancing girls who were painted darker in order to make them look...well, like blondes whose skin has been painted! And, if you look, you can sometimes see the line between their actual skin color and the paint...making it funny (and a bit sad).

"Zarak" is a fictional story about an Afghan outlaw during the time when Britain controlled...or tried to control the country. It begins with Zarak (Mature) caught kissing his step-mommy (Ekberg) and daddy sure is angry! He first orders his son killed, but then is convinced just to make him an outlaw and expel him. Soon, Zarak is a very successful bandit with followers...and he's driving the British overlords crazy trying to stop him.

So, am I saying that this is a terrible film? No. But it certainly could have been a lot better. A few other problems are that for a murderous bandit, Zarak never really kills anyone! And, there are several dance sequences that simply make little sense. It an an interesting film...but a flawed one that could have easily been better.

Zarak Khan is the son of a chief who is caught embracing one of his father's wives, Salma. Zarak's father sentences both to torture and death but they are saved by an imam. The exiled Zarak becomes a bandit chief and an enemy of the British Empire.

It's a watchable orientalist romp, despite the muddled script, sometimes plodding pace, especially in the first half, and it has some good action sequences such as the bridge scene. Far from a great film, however it's diverting enough, especially with Anita Ekberg and her outfits or lack of it, and a good performance by Michael Wilding as the British officer looking to capture Zarak Khan (the great Victor Mature). There's a 007 connection here - Terence Young is the director, screenplay by Richard Maibaum, co-produced by Albert broccoli and actress Eunice Grayson feature.

although I was just a teenager when I saw Zarak, I remember very fondly this excellent film, notably the unbelievable Anita Ekberg's dance, certainly one of the most thrilling piece of eroticism of all British films. Director Terence Young was certainly a master of blending sex appeal with action as testified by his latter films (Safari, Dr No...) Ms Ekberg who certainly is the main attraction of the film is not the only one: Victor Mature as Zarak, an afghan rebel (!) is excellent as usual and the British officers are stiff to the point that they look only at Mature and not at Anita Ekberg. Can you believe it? What is amazing me is how such a cult film which has strong fans all over the world lay unissued and can't be seen anymore. When someone somewhere will at last publish this little gem on DVD?