A sailor joins the crew of a ship whose captain is hell-bent on hunting down the whale that seriously injured him.
Herman Melville's Moby Dick is considered by many to be The Great American Novel, and represents a landmark in literature. Two previous film adaptations did little justice to the original work, and no one in Hollywood appeared to be interested in tackling the story again, until writer-director John Huston made it his mission to mount the production. Despite his standing in the industry, having directed classics like The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The African Queen, it took years for him to raise the money required, due to the dark nature of the material.
Acclaimed fantasy/horror writer Ray Bradbury was commissioned by Huston to write the screenplay, and moved to Ireland so the two could be in close proximity. A battle of wills ensued between the domineering director and the more mild-mannered writer, an experience which Bradbury later fictionalized in a novel. The script is considered very faithful to its source material, retaining its unique dialogue and attempting to reach some of the work's deeper layers and themes.
Part of the studio's condition in funding the production was the casting of a major star in the legendary role of Captain Ahab, which went to Gregory Peck (several years away from his iconic turn in To Kill A Mockingbird. Huston had originally intended on casting his father Walter, who died before the project came to fruition. Also starring is Richard Baseheart (Fellini's La Strada), and a featured appearance by cinema giant Orson Welles, who was very familiar with the novel and supposedly wrote his own monologue.
The film was shot in studios in England as well as various locations at sea, including the Canary Islands, the Portugese coast, and the Irish seas, Huston insisting on the authenticity of the location work. Cinematographer Oswald Morris subverted the bright palette of Technicolor with a unique process that desaturated the images.
While the film was not a box office success, it received mostly positive critical notices, and Huston received Best Director honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review, as well as a nomination from the Director's Guild of America. Since this version, no legitimate adaption for theatrical release has been attempted.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs.
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