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:

Starbuck's Coffee franchise took its name from the character Starbuck of the Pequod crew.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Scenes shot on the deck of the ship have a background painted to look like the sky. Joints in the painted plywood sheets or canvas can be quite clearly seen.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dopey Dick, the Pink Whale (1957)

Soundtrack:

Blood Red Roses

A great Ray Bradbury screenplay!

Ray Bradbury wrote an incredible screenplay for this work. Instead of trying to capture Herman Melville's actual brilliant leviathan sprawl (and who COULD succeed at this?)-- a novel jammed with fantastic,bigger than life characters, many events of great symbolic significance, not to mention barrels of whaling information-- he carves out the tale of Ahab and his obsession with the white whale. Bradbury makes great impact with Ahab's symbolic sacraments and rituals, showing a man who spits in the face of his own and his crew's doom, binding his men to his will with any means necessary. It's hard to believe, but Ray Bradbury takes this glorious wild child of a book and makes it work. The music by Phillip Sainton and the cinematography are great, too, but nothing would have saved this movie from a bad screenplay.