Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and John Huston. The film starred Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, Richard Basehart as Ishmael, Leo Genn as Starbuck, Friedrich Ledebur as Queequeg, and Orson Welles as Father Mapple.
The music score was written by Philip Sainton.
Production
During a meeting to discuss the screenplay, Ray Bradbury informed John Huston that regarding Melville’s novel, he had “never been able to read the damned thing”. According to the biography The Bradbury Chronicles, there was much tension and anger between the two men during the making of the film, allegedly due to Huston’s bullying attitude and attempts to tell Bradbury how to do his job, despite Bradbury being an accomplished writer. Bradbury’s novel Green Shadows, White Whale includes a fictionalized version of his writing the screenplay with John Huston in Ireland. Bradbury’s short story “Banshee” is another fictionalized account of what it was like to work with Huston on this film. In the television adaptation of the story for The Ray Bradbury Theater the Huston character was played by Peter O’Toole and the Bradbury surrogate by Charles Martin Smith.
The film was shot at Las Canteras beach, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. Some exterior scenes set in New Bedford were shot on location in Youghal, Ireland.
A myth that was put to rest in cinematographer Oswald Morris’ autobiography, “Huston, We Have A Problem,” is that no full length whale models were ever built for the production. Previous accounts have claimed that as many as three 60-foot rubber “white whales” were lost at sea during filming making them “navagational hazards.” According to Morris, the Pequod was followed by a barge with various whale parts (hump, back, fin, tail). These were used as needed; and, indeed, one twenty foot cylinder section did come loose from its tow-line and drifted away. Morris does not say if Gregory Peck was aboard the prop, but presumably the actor was as this has been corroborated by others involved in the production. 90% of the shots of the white whale are various size miniatures filmed in a water tank in Shepperton Studios in London. Whales and longboat models were built by special effects man, August Lohman, working in conjunction with art director Stephen Grimes. Studio shots also included a life-size Moby jaw and head – with working eyes. The head apparatus which could move like a rocking horse was employed when actors were in the water with the whale. Gregory Peck’s last speech is delivered in the studio while riding the white whale’s hump (a hole was drilled in the side of the whale so Peck could conceal his real leg).
Peck and Huston intended to shoot Herman Melville’s Typee in 1957, but the funding fell through. Not long after, the two had a falling out. According to one biography, Peck discovered to his disappointment, that he had not been Huston’s choice for Ahab; but in fact, Peck was thrust upon the director by the Mirisch brothers at Warner’s to secure financing. Peck felt Huston had deceived him into taking a part Peck felt he was ill-suited. Years later, the actor tried to patch up his differences with the director, but Huston rebuked him and the two never spoke to each other again.
As of 2008, Oswald Morris is the last surviving member of the film’s first unit.
