Moby Dick

19301930
PassedPassed
1h 20min

John Barrymore in Moby Dick (1930)

In this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brother Derek. Faith herself quickly returns Ahab's love, as Derek is drab and ignoble. On his next voyage, however, Ahab loses a leg to the monstrous white whale Moby-Dick. When upon his return to New Bedford he mistakenly believes Faith wants nothing to do with him because of his disfigurement, Ahab returns to sea with only one goal in mind -- to find and kill the great white whale.

Adventure Drama

In this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple,... Read allIn this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brother Der... Read allIn this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brother Derek. Faith herself qu... Read allIn this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brothe... Read allIn this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brother Derek. Faith herself quickly returns Ahab's love, as Derek is drab and ignoble. On his n... Read all

Director
- Lloyd Bacon
Writers
- Herman Melville(by)
- Oliver H.P. Garrett(adaptation)
- J. Grubb Alexander(screen play and dialogue)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

Videos1

Official Trailer

Official Trailer

John Barrymore, Joan Bennett, and Lloyd Hughes in Moby Dick (1930)

Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore, Noble Johnson, and Walter Long in Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore and Noble Johnson in Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore in Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore and Joan Bennett in Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore in Moby Dick (1930)

John Barrymore in Moby Dick (1930)

Director
- Lloyd Bacon
Writers
- Herman Melville(by)
- Oliver H.P. Garrett(adaptation)
- J. Grubb Alexander(screen play and dialogue)
All cast & crew

See production, box office, & company info

Ladies of Leisure

6.7

Ladies of Leisure

Undercurrent

6.5

Un carnet de bal

7.4

Un carnet de bal

Two O'Clock Courage

6.5

Two O'Clock Courage

Moby Dick

6.9

Miss Pinkerton

6.1

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

7.0

The Bitter Tea of General Yen

Fanny

7.8

So Long at the Fair

7.2

So Long at the Fair

Raffles

6.5

The Sin of Madelon Claudet

6.7

The Sin of Madelon Claudet

The Great Garrick

6.7

The Great Garrick

In this extremely loose adaptation of Melville's classic novel, Ahab is revealed initially not as a bitter and vengeful madman, but as a bit of a lovable scamp. Ashore in New Bedford, he meets and falls for Faith Mapple, daughter of the local minister and beloved of Ahab's brother Derek. Faith herself quickly returns Ahab's love, as Derek is drab and ignoble. On his next voyage, however, Ahab loses a leg to the monstrous white whale Moby-Dick. When upon his return to New Bedford he mistakenly believes Faith wants nothing to do with him because of his disfigurement, Ahab returns to sea with only one goal in mind -- to find and kill the great white whale. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

animal character name as title moby dick character two word title captain ahab character mania 41 more

Taglines
- Far out in an angry sea. sailors grapple with monster whales in a combat to death. While home in New Bedford sweethearts pray for the safe landing of boats that seldom return! (Print Ad- Portsmouth Times, ((Portsmouth, Ohio)) 29 September 1930)
Genres
- Adventure
- Drama
Certificate
- Passed
Parents guide

Trivia
This film featured an early, experimental use of widescreen known as Magnascope. As the boats were lowered for the first chase after the whale, the screen widened; then, as Moby Dick suddenly closed in on Captain Ahab, the screen returned to its normal size. This process had been used for selected sequences of important features at certain first run film run theaters since late 1926 when it was inaugurated with Old Ironsides (1926). There was no change in ratio. The screen got larger, by using a different lens, but lighting and magnification problems limited its use to special occasions.

Goofs
The cover of Melville's novel is shown, then what is ostensibly the first page. But the text shown consists of statements about whaling in general and Moby Dick. The novel, however, is written in the first person, and its first line, establishing this, is one of the most famous in all literature: "Call me Ishmael." This footage was lifted from the 1925 version, 'The Sea Beast'.

Quotes
Faith Mapple: [to Capt. Ahab] Why... Why, Ahab Creely! You're crying!

Crazy credits
While the credits state that the film is based on Herman Melville's novel, the first page of the novel shown onscreen right after the credits is entirely written by one of the screenwriters; it has absolutely nothing to do with Melville's original, and even leaves out Melville's classic opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael".

Connections
Alternate-language version of Dämon des Meeres (1931)

Top review

Stupid but Fun

I saw this one on TNT several years ago. It's a pre-code Hollywood version of the novel which has little or nothing to do with the book. Barrymore plays Ahab who, as the film begins, has both his legs. After a gory meeting with Moby Dick in which he has his leg bloodily chewed off, Ahab returns to New Bedford where he meets the scorn of his fiancee because of his wooden prosthesis. Vowing revenge, he returns to sea, kills Moby Dick, & (I kid you not) gets the girl.

The film is ridiculous with the story completely re-written & Barrymore as a good-natured, capering Ahab. But at this late date it does provide some silly fun & a good view of how Hollywood can (& still does) ruin great literature.

I think it's worth a look--I wish I had taped it.

helpful•13

3

H Lime-2
Jan 5, 2001

Release date
- September 20, 1930 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Language
- English
Also known as
- El azote de los mares
Filming locations
- Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
Production company
- Warner Bros.
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 20min
Color
- Black and White

More to explore

View list

Upcoming Horror Films in 2021

Image caption not available

Stars Choose Pride Party Guest Lists

Watch the video

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.