In 1840, a young sailor joins the whaling ship Pequod, whose captain, Ahab, is obsessively searching for the monstrous white whale that took off his leg.
John Huston’s long-cherished adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel has some wonderful scenes but the great white whale always looks phoney. It performed badly in high seas off the coasts of Ireland and the Canaries, pushing the budget through the roof.
In addition, Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab is miscast, completely lacking the required demonic presence. Wags at the time joked that Orson Welles, who plays Father Mapple, should have played the whale, while Peck himself thought that Huston should have played Ahab.
However, Peck was persuaded to take on the Father Mapple role in the 1998 TV movie version, starring Patrick Stewart as Ahab.
Captain Ahab
Gregory Peck
Ishmael
Richard Basehart
Starbuck
Leo Genn
Father Mapple
Orson Welles
Queequeg
Friedrich Ledebur
Stubb
Harry Andrews
Manxman
Bernard Miles
Peleg
Mervyn Johns
Carpenter
Noel Purcell
Captain Boomer
James Robertson-Justice
Daggoo
Edric Connor
Flask
Seamus Kelly
Bildad
Philip Stainton
Peter Coffin
Joseph Tomelty
Elijah
Royal Dano
Captain Gardiner
Francis De Wolff
Pip
Tamba Alleney
Blacksmith
Ted Howard
Tashtego
Tom Clegg
Director
John Huston
