Moby Dick

19561956
Not RatedNot Rated
1h 56m

7.3/10

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.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.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.

7.3/10

19K

Director
- John Huston
Writers
- Ray Bradbury(screenplay)
- John Huston(screenplay)
- Norman Corwin(uncredited)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 4 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 3:11

Official Trailer

Gregory Peck, Harry Andrews, Leo Genn, and Seamus Kelly in Moby Dick (1956)

Gregory Peck and Friedrich von Ledebur in Moby Dick (1956)

Richard Basehart and Friedrich von Ledebur in Moby Dick (1956)

Gregory Peck at an event for Moby Dick (1956)

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. —E.W. DesMarais <jlongst@aol.com>

revenge based on novel moby dick character whale obsession 56 more

Taglines
- From the immortal adventure classic...of whaling men, their ships, and the sea!
Genres
- Adventure
- Drama
Certificate
- Not Rated
Parents guide

Trivia
The whale "Moby Dick" was an 85-foot-long, steel-reinforced, rubberized construction. Two full models were made, costing approximately $30,000 each, and both were lost at sea during shooting, necessitating the construction of a third for the sequences shot in the Canary Islands. At one point, the towline of the third whale broke during filming and sailed into a fog with Gregory Peck on its back.

Goofs
In the scenes with the Quaker characters, despite Herman Melville's correct use of "thee" and "thou," the two Captains frequently misuse "thee" as the subject, when it is only ever used as the object. For instance, the Peleg and Bildad will frequently say phrases such as "hast thee" or "art thee" when the correct use of this mode of speech calls for "hast thou" or "art thou."

Quotes
Captain Ahab: From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned whale.

Crazy credits
The film finishes with 'Finis' instead of the usual 'The End'.

Connections
Edited into Spisok korabley (2008)

Soundtracks
Drummer
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Edric Connor

Top review

Calls you to the sea again...

This is a film that becomes part of you. I used to watch it over and over again on TV when it was shown during my childhood in the 1960's, and I never tire of watching it. And whenever I find myself living somewhere away from the ocean, the longing is intense to find water again. "Call me Ishmael".

The screenplay was written by Ray Bradbury, and it was his first. In his lectures and interviews, Bradbury always seems to tell the story of how John Huston contacted him out of the blue for this assignment. Evidently, he flew Bradbury and his wife to Ireland, where the science fiction writer was holed up in a hotel for a few weeks, in a wonderful agony of creation.

Bradbury has always been enamoured with classic novels. His book "Fahrenheit 451" told us how great literature somehow becomes subversive, in a controlled society. Under fascism, individuals are not encouraged to understand what it is to be truly human. Life becomes flat, and it is a deliberate process.

Before I had a VCR, I taped this movie on an audio cassette. It was an amazing experience to see it unfold in my mind's eye.

Bradbury put his whole heart into this screenplay, and the result can never be matched.

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