When I was a kid, I was first introduced to the character of Captain Ahab and the Whale Moby Dick, for when I saw "The Pagemaster". And as horribly short as their appearance was in the film, I did find myself taking an interest in the character and the monstrous whale that Ahab's been hunting down. A few years later, my Dad rented me a copy of the 1956 film, and even though my memory of the film is very vague, I still remember enjoying it, for its sense of adventure, and characters (mainly Ahab and Queequeg). I tried looking for the film as I got older, but I could never find a copy of it. That is until I stumbled upon it at "Barnes And Nobles". During the time that I was searching for the film, I found myself reading about the film being panned for Gregory Peck's performance as Ahab, since he was too young for the part, and that people at the time had a hard time buying that Peck who usually plays the heroes (like Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird" for example), would be playing a mad Sea Captain. Even Peck himself was embarrassed about his portrayal of Ahab, especially after finding out that he was conned by the director to play the role since the Warner Brothers Studios would only green-light the shooting for the film if they can get a big named star, since the story was too dark and depressing. I've also heard people complain about how fake the Whale looked, and to be honest I find myself vaguely remembering the Whale itself. So after so many years of not seeing it, and hearing the criticisms from fans and audiences (Which are indeed big ones), does the film still hold up, or is it as bad as people say? ON WITH THE REVIEW!
Set in New England in the 19th Century, and told through the point-of-view of a sailor played by Richard Basehart. A salty sea Captain who goes by the name of Captain Ahab (Gregory Peck) goes out on a voyage to seek the giant White whale Moby Dick and kill it after nearly being killed by the Whale. However, Ahab's obsession with vengeance is so insane that he doesn't care if he has to endanger the lives of his crew and himself in order to kill the beast. This action causes his first-mate Starbuck (Leo Genn) to contemplate if he should go along with Ahab's plan, or simply kill him to save the lives of the crew.
The first thing I admire about the film is the atmosphere! After the film's opening credits, from the moment when I saw the narrator Ishmael walk through the forest and towards the town to find work, I was completely sucked into the film's world. You actually get the sense that you're part of the crew from the way everything is shot and acted, where you at times wish you were actually there with them. You want to go sailing with these people (that is if the ship had a better captain). You want to hang out in the pub and sing Sea Chanteys with them. You want to go to this church dedicated to the Whalers who lost their lives out at sea. There's just a strong sense of community in the town where the Whalers live that's very welcoming. The film even goes into complete detail of why they hunt Whales, which at the time seemed like one of the major necessities for people to survive. However, as you understand why whaling is so important, the film pretty much leaves it up to the viewer to decide if they side with Ahab and the Whalers, or the great White Whale since they both carry nasty traits but are both sympathetic in their own way.
Before we meet our leading character Captain Ahab, we mostly spend time with the supporting characters, and despite being a large cast of characters, you can still easily identify who is who. The three major supporting characters in the film who have more of an arc and purpose in the story compared to the others are Ishmael, Starbuck, and Ishmael's native friend and chief Harpooner Queequeg (Friedrich von Ledebur). Richard Basehart provides captivating narration as the character Ishmael that helps suck you into the film's environment, and despite that his character is not really the star or focus of the story, he's still likable and works well as the story's observer. Leo Genn gives a natural performance as the first-mate Starbuck who's trying to talk Ahab out of his obsession where you perfectly feel the stress and frustration of his relationship with this crazy Captain. And the chemistry that he and Peck share together is very believable. The chief Harpooner Queequeg is by far my favorite supporting character in the entire movie. Yes he's played by an Austrian actor which is a tad bit distracting since he makes the character look like one of the whitest natives that has ever walked on the big screen. But I still think that his character and performance is good enough for you to overlook his whiteness. The friendship with him and Ishmael is nice (especially when taking place at a time when segregation of the races was still enforced). The wise and humble personality that he carries is endearing. The design of him wearing a top hat, and being covered in tattoos is cool. And his skills at harpooning, selling shrunken heads, and being able to see the future by using bones is awesome. He's definitely the most badass and interesting character in the whole entire cast of supporting characters. The other supporting characters who stand-out to me the most are the African American cabin boy Pip who carries a tambourine. The jolly Captain Boomer (James Robertson Justice) who lost his hand from Moby Dick, but is willing to move on with his life. The carefree Whaler Stubb (Harry Andrews). And Father Mapple played by Orson Welles who gives a powerhouse performance, as the scene itself dives into the story's themes. The supporting characters and the scenes they get (not counting the first three) are short and brief, but they still leave an impression on you, as you find yourself wishing that you could learn more about them which is what makes them so interesting.
Now we've come to the casting choice that many people seem to be mixed about, which is Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab. After not seeing this movie since childhood how does his performance hold up? Well we don't see him enter the film for about a half-hour, but we do get plenty of exciting build-up to him. We only see the back of him as he walks the dark streets of New England. We hear about how crazy he is and how much he hates Whales from the crew. And we get an eerie scene where we hear the sound of his peg-leg walking above Ishmael's cabin in the middle of the night, while everybody is asleep. I was actually getting nervous that Peck's performance might kill the movie, since everything was so great during the first 30 or so minutes of the film. And after finally seeing his performance after hearing the mixed reactions from audiences and critics, I really don't think he was anywhere near bad. He looks too young for the role, and I wish that they could've casted someone like Orson Welles for the role, or did a better make-up job for his physical appearance (especially for that scar, that at times looks like he has a piece of tape attached to his face). But as far as his performance goes I think he does a phenomenal job. Every time I see him on-screen he's completely intense and intimidating with his undying lust to hunt down this Whale and kill him for vengeance. I seriously couldn't find a single moment where I didn't find his performance to be powerful and dramatic. He just nails every word of dialogue with his mad expressions. And I was trying really hard to find a flaw in his performance. But outside of how young he looks, just like how I felt about Queequeg being played by a White actor, I think his performance is great enough to overcome his appearance. Even when he's over the top, I still find myself believing that he really wants to get his Whale, since I think his over the top moments fit with the characters insanity. My favorite scenes with Gregory Peck as Ahab are his first on-screen appearance. The scenes when he goes out on the jolly boats to search for the whale with an urge to kill. That scene when he harnesses’ the light from St.Elmo's Fire on to his harpoon. And the conversations between him and his first mate Starbuck. I'm not going to act like that I don't understand where the criticism for casting Peck is coming from, but personally I don't think he did a bad job at all.
So I still think that Gregory Peck's performance hold's up fine, but how about the Whale that this whole film has brilliantly been building up to? Well you know in "JAWS" how the shark was obviously mechanical, but the scenes with the shark were directed so effectively that you were willing forgive how fake it looked? That's pretty much how I feel about the Whale in this movie. The flesh looks wooden, and you can spot the times when it’s destroying a model ship with a painted backdrop in the background. But the way that these scenes are paced, acted, shot, and edited are so exciting and intense that makes the obvious effects become forgivable. They for the most part know how much to show the Whale, and how much to show the actors fighting it. It's a breathtaking and action-packed battle. And given the time when this film was made, I think the effects were good, if not great. After watching this film again, I wouldn't be surprised if Spielberg took some inspiration from the cinematography for his film "JAWS". Some of the shots in "JAWS" remind me of the shots in this film (Like the shot of the rope attached to a harpoon being pulled, and the overhead shot of Ishmael standing on the ship's mast, for example); and like how Spielberg showed little of the shark, and would at times show the shark's fins, this film would mostly shows the hump on the Whale's back. Spielberg was also originally going to introduce Quint (Who is obviously based off of Ahab) by having him sit in a movie theater laughing at the film "Moby Dick", but he couldn't get permission to use clips from the movie since Gregory Peck wasn't too happy with the film itself. Thank god Peck didn’t allow clips from the movie to be used in “JAWS” because Quint scratching the chalkboard to get people's attention is a better introduction, than what Spielberg had in mind.
Another criticism that I hear from audiences about the picture is how slow paced and dialogue heavy that the film is. And yeah, I'm not going to deny that the film's pacing is slow, and that there are a lot of scenes of dialogue. But with that said, I don't really find that to be a problem with the film for how interesting the characters are, and how there's enough action to balance out the scenes of conversations. With the exception of Ahab's encounter with the Whale at the end, some of the other highlights in the film take place on the voyage are the first whale that the crew kills. The storm sequence that's followed by a spooky scene when Saint Elmo's Fire hits the ship. And a heart pounding scene with Queequeg being paralyzed after he discovers that he's going to die. On top of the balance of action scenes, the dialogue between the characters feels important to the film’s narrative since they always move the story forward, instead of being scenes of boring filler.
Even though I perfectly understand where the criticisms and the complaints for this film are coming from, I'm sorry but I still think it’s a great film. It’s heavy on atmosphere. The characters are memorable. Peck gives a grim performance as Ahab (despite for how young he looks). The acting is top notch. And the effects as primitive as they are by modern day standards are still good, especially from the way the scenes themselves are put together. This film is drenching with so much drama and adventure on a grand scale in every single frame, that frankly I find it to be an underappreciated film.
RATING 5/5
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