The Sea Beast (1926)

Director:

Millard Webb

Writers:

Herman Melville (novel), Bess Meredyth,

Stars:

John Barrymore, Dolores Costello, George O'Hara

Cast

Credited cast:
John Barrymore	...	Captain Ahab Ceeley
Dolores Costello	...	Esther Harper
George O'Hara	...	Derek Ceeley
Mike Donlin	...	Flask
Sam Baker	...	Queequeeq
George Berrell	...	Perth (as George Burrell)
Sam Allen	...	Captain
Frank Nelson	...	Stubbs
Mathilde Comont	...	Mula
James O. Barrows	...	Rev. Harper
Vadim Uraneff	...	Pip
Kamiyama Sôjin	...	Fedallah (as Sojin)
Frank Hagney	...	Daggoo
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joyzelle Joyner	...	Dancer in prologue

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

sea | based on novel

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

15 January 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Fera do Mar

Filming Locations:

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Priscilla Bonner was originally cast as Esther because John Barrymore's first choice, his then-love 'Mary Astor (I)', was unavailable. Before filming started he met and fell for Dolores Costello and replaced Bonner with her.

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Connections

Featured in Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991)

User Reviews

This is not Melville, but it IS Barrymore!

This rousing adventure romance is very loosely based on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. A few plot elements are taken from the novel and fashioned into a completely different story. The film is a showcase for John Barrymore, whose transformation as Ahab is reminiscent of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

However, the new Televista DVD release is recommended only for silent film collectors (like myself) who must have this movie in their libraries. Much of the spectacle of the original is lost due to the poor quality of the print used for this DVD. It is identified as a print held by the George Eastman House which originated from the Henry A. Strong collection. Although it may be the best available print, it is pretty bad. Details are blurred and grainy, some inter-titles are difficult to read, and when letters are held up to the camera, they are completely unreadable. The Televista DVD is priced at $15, but the quality is no better than Alpha Video DVDs available for $5 or $6.