Moby Dick (1956)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Herman Melville (novel)
Ray Bradbury (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

From the immortal adventure classic...of whaling men, their ships, and the sea!

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 | Revenge | Whaling

Awards:

5 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)
Orson Welles	...	Father Mapple
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tamba Allenby	...	Pip (uncredited)
Tom Clegg	...	Tashtego (uncredited)
Mandy Harper	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Ted Howard	...	Perth (uncredited)
John Huston	...	Barman / Ship's Lookout (voice) (uncredited)
A.L. Bert Lloyd	...	Lead shantyman (and shanty adviser) (uncredited)
Arthur Mullard	...	(uncredited)
Iris Tree	...	Bible Woman (uncredited)
Carol White	...	Young Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Herman Melville		(novel "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale")
Ray Bradbury		(screenplay) and
John Huston		(screenplay)
Norman Corwin		uncredited

Produced by
John Huston	....	producer
Lee Katz	....	associate producer (as Lehman Katz)
Jack Clayton	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Vaughan N. Dean	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Philip Sainton

Cinematography by
Oswald Morris		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Russell Lloyd

Production Design by
Geoffrey Drake		(uncredited)
Stephen Drake		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Ralph W. Brinton		(as Ralph Brinton)

Costume Design by
Elizabeth Haffenden		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup creator (as Charles Parker)

Production Management
Cecil F. Ford	....	production manager (uncredited)
Gerry Mitchell	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Martin	....	assistant director
Kevin McClory	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Peter Price	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Stephen B. Grimes	....	assistant art director (as Stephen Grimes)
Bill Beavis	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Babs Gray	....	model maker (uncredited)

Sound Department
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist (as John Mitchell)
Alfred Kirschner	....	post-synchronization director (uncredited)
Alex Pront	....	sound (uncredited)
Len Shilton	....	sound (uncredited)
Hugh Strain	....	assistant dubbing mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
George Blackwell	....	special effects (uncredited)
Augie Lohman	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Robert Clarke	....	technical advisor: whale model (uncredited)
Charles E. Parker	....	technical advisor: whale model (uncredited)

Stunts
Robert Porter	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)
Paul Stader	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Sullivan	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Freddie Francis	....	director of photography: second unit
Arthur Ibbetson	....	camera operator
Steve Birtles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Freddie Francis	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ernst Haas	....	additional stills photography (uncredited)
George Higgins	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Martin O'Connor	....	key grip (uncredited)
Bob Penn	....	still photographer: special publicity photographs (uncredited)
Kelvin Pike	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Paul Wilson	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Babs Gray	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Jean-Pierre Steimer	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Harold V. King	....	recordist (as Harold King)
Louis Levy	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Eddie Frewin	....	driver: generator (uncredited)

Other crew
Robert Clarke	....	technical advisor on whaling
John Huston	....	color style creator
Oswald Morris	....	color style creator
Angela Allen	....	continuity (uncredited)
John Breslin	....	dialect advisor (uncredited)
Tadeo Villalba	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Moulin Productions Inc. (as A Moulin Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros.)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1962) (USA) (TV)
• United Artists (1976) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Cliff's Notes Version)
• Another World Entertainment (2010) (Denmark) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (198?) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• British Institute of Oceanography, The  produced and directed by John Huston who wishes to express his sincere thanks to, for the great help they gave (as The British Institute of Oceanography)
• Mystic Seaport Marine Historical Association, The  produced and directed by John Huston who wishes to express his sincere thanks to, for the great help they gave (as The Mystic Seaport Marine Historical Association)
• Old Dartmouth Historical Society  produced and directed by John Huston who wishes to express his sincere thanks to, for the great help they gave (as The Old Dartmouth Historical Society)
• Studios Éclair, Épinay-Sur-Seine  post-synchronisation (uncredited)
• Whalermen of Madeira, The  produced and directed by John Huston who wishes to express his sincere thanks to, for the great help they gave (as the Whalermen of Madeira)

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:

Australia:G | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-12 (1986) | Finland:K-16 (1956) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #17465) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG (video rating) (1993) (1994) (2004) | UK:PG (tv rating) | UK:U (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Moulin Productions Inc.

Trivia:

The ship captained by Captain Boomer (James Robertson Justice) is the 'Samuel Enderby'. Samuel Enderby founded a whaling company called Samuel Enderby & Sons. Vessels of the Enderby company vessels sailed seas all around the world, including whaling trips and being part of the Third Fleet to the colony of New South Wales.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The way the ship was moved away from the pier was incorrect. The crew is shown hauling a line from the pier. This would not make the ship move forward. To move a ship out of the harbor it is therefore necessary to provide something to pull against. A special anchor, called a kedging anchor, is carried as far from the ship as possible by the longboat and then dropped to the seabed. The remaining crew pull the ship out to it winding the line around the capstan or winch, and then it is hauled up and the process repeated as many times as necessary.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bermuda Depths (1978) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hill An' Gully Rider

There's Majesty For You!

"We are all killers, on land and on sea," wrote Herman Melville more than 100 years ago. But the artistic failure of a recent television adaptation of his greatest work shows that some are killers, too, on screen. Movie makers. Butchers. Their guts are now gorged with Moby Dick.

"Majestic" raved "TV Guide" about USA Network's production of Melville's book. Reading that review I had a fantasy where Captain Ahab, with his sublime limp, walks into the magazine's office, shoves director John Huston's 1956 film of Moby Dick into the VCR, points to the screen and defiantly exclaims:

"There's majesty for you . . . "

. . . in the faces of men. Huston's film benefits from its intelligent casting of the seamen. The actors in the recent production are just pretty-boy imports from Los Angeles, rabble-rousers lacking the dignity that is gained from a lifetime of duty. But that dignity is plainly visible on the rugged faces of the men in the earlier film. One rarely sees that anymore.

. . . in the faces of women, too. The images of the women suffering as they watch their men go off to sea are utterly devastating, they hold so much emotional depth, so much beauty. The attention to detail in Huston's film is striking: the hairs on the chins of the old women, the tired, thick-skinned expressions of the wives and widows, the heavy shawls covering their heads.

. . . in the performances. Over 40 years ago when Orson Welles gave his performance as Father Mapple (a role which only a person with a special kind of magnificence could successfully take on), Gregory Peck might have been busily preparing for his role as Captain Ahab in the same film. What a testament to Peck's stature as one of our leading actors that throughout his career he could play not only Captain Ahab but also, in the recent production, Father Mapple.

. . . in the color. Huston's film is in Technicolor, a technique which produced colors not even seen in nature. The sky is now blue now red now green. The water is brown, pink, gray. Colors blend. Colors clash. By comparison, how banal the colors of our post-Technicolor world!

. . . in the mouth. The seamen have the exquisite mouths of pipe-smokers. The upper lip tight and stiff after so many hours pulled down in the puff.

. . . in the eyes. My favorite scene is where Peck as Captain Ahab famously proclaims: "Speak not to me of blasphemy. I'd strike the sun if it insulted me." The lighting, the acting, everything here is superb. The camera is focused tightly on Peck's face. The stark appearance of his eyes -- the tense, black irises all surrounded by gleaming white -- seems to reveal the subtext of the story. His eyes electrify!

John Huston's film says more in its two hours than USA Network's says in four; it suggests a lot and explains little, whereas the latter tries to explain a lot but says nothing. A great film, it doesn't butcher Melville's Moby Dick but adds to its power.