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:

Orson Welles' one-scene cameo helped to fund his stage production of the very same story.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Pip: That ain't no whale; that a great white god.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Movie Orgy (1968)

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.