Moby Dick (1956)

The sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Herman Melville (novel), Ray Bradbury (screenplay),

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gregory Peck	...	Captain Ahab
Richard Basehart	...	Ishmael
Leo Genn	...	Starbuck
James Robertson Justice	...	Captain Boomer
Harry Andrews	...	Stubb
Bernard Miles	...	The Manxman
Noel Purcell	...	Ship's Carpenter
Edric Connor	...	Daggoo
Mervyn Johns	...	Peleg
Joseph Tomelty	...	Peter Coffin
Francis De Wolff	...	Captain Gardiner
Philip Stainton	...	Bildad
Royal Dano	...	'Elijah'
Seamus Kelly	...	Flask
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Queequeg (as Friedrich Ledebur)

Storyline

This classic story by Herman Melville revolves around Captain Ahab and his obsession with a huge whale, Moby Dick. The whale caused the loss of Ahab's leg years before, leaving Ahab to stomp the boards of his ship on a peg leg. Ahab is so crazed by his desire to kill the whale, that he is prepared to sacrifice everything, including his life, the lives of his crew members, and even his ship to find and destroy his nemesis, Moby Dick.

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Plot Keywords:

whale | ship | obsession | revenge | whaling | 

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Taglines:

Before the shark there was the whale (US rerelease 1976)

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herman Melville's Moby Dick

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Moulin Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 115 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fake white whale used in the film kept sinking, breaking, etc., which meant that it had to be continuously rebuilt, leading to budget overruns and schedule delays.

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Goofs

Airplane contrails visible in the background when Starbuck plans to shoot Ahab.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ishmael: [voiceover] Call me Ishmael.

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Connections

Version of Capitaine Achab (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Drummer"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Edric Connor

User Reviews

no remakes - - PUH-LEEZE!!

This version of the Melville classic should, without question, be regarded as the penultimate screen adaptation of a masterwork of American fiction. Everything - absolutely everything - about this film works, from John Huston's brilliant direction, to the screenplay ( co-written by Ray Bradbury ), to the powerful and believable performances. Gregory Peck IS Ahab; if anyone defined and crystallized so megalomaniacal a character, it was Peck, hands down. Not that this should be interpreted as a slight to any of the supporting cast; it isn't. The casting is so good, in fact, that now we find it difficult, if not impossible, to view the supporting cast members in any other light, especially Frederich Ledebur: his choice by the producers as Queequeg was nothing if not dead on the money, as was the small but significant part of Elizah, as portrayed by Royal Dano. Granted, some liberties were taken with the book ( so what else is new? ), such as the squid being written out completely, but this was, and continues to be, necessary in order to make a movie that doesn't take five hours to play out. Yes, okay, it's a "Cliff's Notes" "Moby Dick", but if what you're after is good direction, outstanding ( one could say tour de force ) acting, and a tight screenplay, then this is the movie for you. Believe us, this is the one, NOT the remake with Patrick Stewart. Stewart's Ahab is basically Patrick Stewart playing Patrick Stewart playing Ahab or, to put it another way, Huston's "Moby Dick" needs to be remade about as badly as the rest of us need leukemia. 'Nuff said.