Moby Dick (1956)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Herman Melville (novel)
Ray Bradbury (writer) ...

Release Date:

27 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

The most eagerly awaited motion picture of the year!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Whale | Ship | Obsession | Whaling | Revenge

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

Herman Melville's Moby Dick (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

116 min | 115 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1986) | Finland:K-16 (1956) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #17465) | Australia:G | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Moulin Productions Inc.

Trivia:

One of the myths circulating about this film is that it was "filmed on location". While there is plenty of location work on it (Canary Islands, Irish Seas, Youghal, Ireland), over 2/3 the film was shot at Shepperton and Elstree Studios in England. These include the Spouter's Inn tavern scenes, Father Mapple's sermon, Ahab's first speech on the deck of the Pequod (note the painted sky background), the typhoon; Ahab's dialog on the whale's back. While there are a few shots of the sixty foot Moby Dick on the open sea, most of the whale appearing in the finished film are various sized miniatures and selected body parts (jaws, body cylinders, eyes) which were co-ordinated by art director Stephen B. Grimes.

Goofs:

Continuity: Blood/holes in Moby Dick change when Ahab stabs.

Quotes:

Ishmael: Queequeg, such behavior isn't Christian. In fact, it's downright pagan and heathenish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The A-Team: Bad Time on the Border (#2.4)" (1983)

Huston's Treasure of the Sea

In the 1960s English professors and film critics delighted in bashing this film. The professors took the line that the movie wasn't Melville, while the critics dismissed Peck's interpretation of Captain Ahab as "stiff." Neither view holds up well today.

Huston's "Moby Dick" isn't the whole book, but what film is? Though he doesn't give you the breadth or the depth, Huston does deliver much of the spirit and heart of the novel. The production values are splendid and the supporting players outstanding. No one can top Orson Welles as Father Mapple, but Leo Genn's Starbuck comes close. My only complaint is with Richard Basehart, who was a good actor but at 42 much too old for Ishmael, who I believe is in his early 20s. Stray thought - I wonder what James Dean would have done with Ishmael?

As for Peck, who else could have attempted this role in the mid-50s? John Wayne? Gary Cooper? Let's be serious. Sterling Hayden (who actually was quite a sailor) had the proper face and frame, but Hayden was never a box office draw and likely wasn't considered. More to the point, Peck was a much better actor. Though a bit young for Ahab, he certainly conveys both the man's insanity and his magnetism, which of course are inseparable. In so many films ("Twelve O'Clock High", "Pork Chop Hill", "The Guns of Navarone"), Peck was nothing if not a leader. Here he leads convincingly, which is essential, for Ahab is not Captain Quegg. In spite of everything Ahab's men do not mutiny, they follow him down, and with Peck in the role you accept it. Was he stiff? Well, try walking around with a pegleg. You'll probably feel a bit stiff yourself. Better to call Peck's Ahab rigid and unflinching, qualities that are central to the character. I have not seen Patrick Stewart's interpretation, but I doubt his Ahab achieves either Peck's demonic fury or his stone-hearted resolve.

There have been few better films of life at sea and few better interpretations of classic literature. "Moby Dick" is a treasure grown richer with age.