Moby Dick (1956 film)

Moby Dick is a 1956 American film directed by John Huston and starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, James Robertson Justice, Orson Welles, Harry Andrews and Bernard Miles in the main roles. The screenplay, based on the novel Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville, was written by Ray Bradbury and John Huston. The exteriors were shot in the waters of the islands of Gran Canaria and Madeira, where real scenes of whaling were filmed, led by Madeiran whalers.

This film is the most famous version of the work of Herman Melville, and offers one of the best performances of actor Gregory Peck: the incarnation of the deranged and charismatic Captain Ahab.

Plot

Captain Ahab (Gregory Peck) is in command of a whaling ship, the Pequod, a brig whose cleats are made of sperm whale teeth and the tiller made of a jawbone. His life is spent in the steerage and he only comes out at night. To most of the crew he is just a ghost with a whalebone leg, his footsteps echoing across the deck.

The ship goes whaling, but after a few days, the new crew learn that Ahab has a maniacal obsession, which is to kill a white whale that tore off his leg years ago. The white whale is one of the sperm whale type.

That's why Ahab has a bony leg, with which he bangs against the deck of the ship as he walks. His hatred of the whale is so great that he is willing to risk his life, his men and the entire ship to kill Moby Dick. However, his charisma and the strength of his feelings are so powerful that he imbues the crew with his convictions.

When Ahab learns that the whale might be within his reach, he makes the necessary changes to make it a priority to pursue and kill it.

Cast

The stuntmen include Robert Porter, Joe Powell, Paul Stader and John Sullivan.

Comments

The central theme of Moby Dick is the conflict between Captain Ahab, skipper of the whaler Pequod, and the great white whale that ripped off his right leg at sea level. knee. Ahab, greedy for revenge, blinded by his monomania, launches with his entire crew on a desperate search for his enemy. The work goes far beyond the adventure and becomes an allegory about the incomprehensible evil represented by the whale, a monster from the depths that attacks and destroys whatever gets in its way, and also by Captain Ahab, who represents evil. absurd and obstinate, who sustains a personal vendetta and drags many innocent people to useless death; only one would be saved to tell about it.

Moby Dick was partially filmed in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and in Las Canteras Beach in the same city, during Christmas 1954. The presence on the island of Gran Canaria of two legends of the seventh art, John Huston (its director) and Gregory Peck (its protagonist), makes it the largest filming ever made on the islands. In some shipyards in Puerto de La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the model of the great white whale was built for the decisive final sequence of the film —shot on the island—, for which specialists from American cinematography traveled to the island.

The whaler Pequod is actually a schooner from 1870, and is the same one that, under the name Hispanola, was used for the recording of Treasure Island (1950 film), Walt Disney's adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

In his memoirs, John Huston recalls the filming in Gran Canaria and tells how what can perhaps be considered the most important shot of the film (the one in which the inert arm of Captain Ahab on the back of the great white whale, moves to the sway of the waves as if indicating to its sailors to follow it) arose unexpectedly, thanks to a mixture of fortune and expertise on the part of the local technicians who were in charge of transporting the large model of the animal over the waters.

The cinematographer combined two sets of negatives, one Technicolor and one monochrome, to achieve the old feel of the film.

John Huston alternated scenes set in studios and beaches with actual shots of sperm whale hunting off Madeira.

Other scenes were filmed on the south coast of Ireland, specifically in Youghall, where you can still enjoy a beer in the pub where some scenes were filmed and see a model of the whale with the corpse of Captain Ahab sewn to it loin in the bay The director decided that in this location, and only filming on foggy days, the film would have a gloomy atmosphere.

Criticism

According to Ángel Sala, «despite its excellence, it lacks a point of delirium to transmit the sick universe of the literary original».

Awards and nominations

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

National Board of Review

Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani

National Board of Review