Moby Dick

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Moby Dick

1956

1h 56m

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, along with a crew including Starbuck (Leo Genn), Father Mapple (James Robertson Justice) and Ishmael (Richard Basehart), to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.

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Critics Consensus

It may favor spectacle in place of the deeper themes in Herman Melville's novel, but John Huston's Moby Dick still makes for a grand movie adventure.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Aug 5, 2011

One could have plenty of quarrels with this as an adaptation of the Herman Melville novel, but it's still one of the better John Huston films of the 50s.

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TIME Magazine

Aug 5, 2011

Moby Dick is certainly the most unusual picture of the year and may well be the best.

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

Apr 5, 2011

3/5

The film takes flight as a grand chase movie, and leaves its ambition in its wake.

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Francois Truffaut

Arts (France)

Feb 14, 2024

Too often, John Huston offers us, instead of creatures made of flesh and blood, only colorless beings who come onto the screen to deliver one or two aphorisms before going out of focus.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

May 9, 2023

3/4

Director John Huston and screenwriter Ray Bradbury teamed up (and feuded aplenty) to wrestle Herman Melville’s literary classic Moby-Dick to the screen, with results both fascinating and flawed.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Dec 30, 2022

4/5

…a neglected masterpiece…

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Hector I

@Hector1184BC Aug 30, 2026

A solid and enjoyable adaptation, although considerably less complex than Melville's novel. Ahab's obsession and almost religious possession by his desire for revenge are the strongest elements, while Starbuck provides an important moral opposition to him. The film is steeped in Protestant and biblical imagery, particularly the story of Jonah and the whale. Some sequences are superb, especially the eerie waiting for Moby Dick and the St. Elmo's fire illuminating the weapons. A good adaptation, but ultimately much less rich than the book.

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Blobbo X

@Blobbo Mar 20, 2026

Pretty good old adventure film. Easier watch than read book.

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Annie V

@Annie265 Oct 21, 2025

Gregory Peck on one of his best performances

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Aug 15, 2025

Success in 1 hour and 56 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Michael C

@Movies121985 Jun 1, 2025

So Awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Alec B

@Alec97 Apr 6, 2025

Ultimately a mixed bag. I like certain scenes and the cinematography. Peck was unfortunately too young for the part (not awful but he's clearly trying too hard) which is noticeably distracting.

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John Huston

Director

Gregory Peck

Captain Ahab

Richard Basehart

Ishmael

Leo Genn

Starbuck

James Robertson Justice

Captain Boomer

Harry Andrews

Stubb

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Synopsis

Capt. Ahab (Gregory Peck) has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, along with a crew including Starbuck (Leo Genn), Father Mapple (James Robertson Justice) and Ishmael (Richard Basehart), to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.

Director: John Huston
Producer: John Huston
Screenwriter: Herman Melville, Ray Bradbury, John Huston
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures, United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Moulin Productions Inc.
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 1956, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 13, 2017
Runtime: 1h 56m

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