- John Huston's version of Moby Dick is a decent if occasionally underwhelming adaptation of Herman Melville's illustrious novel. I wouldn't say that the film compares poorly to other adventure films of its era, but it certainly falls short of the exceedingly high quality of both the source material and Huston's earlier work. In fact, Huston's prior successes at portraying humanity's often insane pursuits are in large part what make this film disappointing by comparison. On the other hand, Moby Dick does have some shining moments, and the film's special effects in particular are actually quite impressive. The whale, for example, is incredibly convincing, as is the storm that nearly capsizes the Pequod. Between this and Key Largo, Huston can take credit for two of the greatest storms ever shown on film. While special effects alone can never elevate a bad film to greatness, they certainly help keep the average ones afloat.
- As in the novel, most of the story is recounted for us by the narrator Ishmael (Richard Basehart). The film also inexplicably contains a few scenes for which Ishmael is not present, but I suppose the Pequod is a small enough boat that he must have overheard what was going on. Anyway, the real character of interest is Captain Ahab, played with full physical and emotional scarring by Gregory Peck. Peck's considerable talent is almost sufficient to overcome his miscasting, although one wonders why the film didn't use either of the two perfect Ahabs available in John Huston and Orson Welles, the latter of whom is awkwardly inserted into the story as a preacher. Regardless, Ahab's characterization is handled reasonably well, and his rather late appearance in the film is appropriately foreshadowed by the threatening echoes of his wooden leg. Most of the crew members, such as Queequeg (Friedrich von Ledebur) and Starbuck (Leo Genn) are interesting enough, although Starbuck's sudden change of heart near the end of the film seems unmotivated.
- While Ahab's mad oath-hurling and storm-taming are memorable, the intervening scenes of quiet suspense in Moby Dick are perhaps more dramatically compelling. In one instance, a hovering flock of birds predicts the white whale's violent emergence from the depths. Moby Dick's eventual appearance is striking, but the anticipation that accumulates beforehand is downright electrifying. Likewise, the film contains a scene in which the ship is stranded mid-ocean waiting for the wind to blow. With the right director at the helm, watching a crew of men slowly rot with ennui can be more exciting than a whale attack. While Moby Dick falls short of Huston's usual high standards, I nonetheless think he was the right director to have at the helm. I suppose this was just one of those times that the wind never fully picked up.
- In addition to Huston, Ray Bradbury was the film's other writer.
