Moby Dick il mostro bianco

Once one gets over the fact that this 1930 adaptation of Herman Melville's classic sea story has an at best tenuous relationship to the novel it's based on, it's quite enjoyable. John Barrymore makes an heroic Ahab, and Joan Bennett is fetching as his love interest (yes, I know). Warner Brothers went all out with this one, and as Barrymore was still a top leading man at the time, did a beautiful job with at least the visual aspects of the story, and the film is at times breathtaking to behold. Alas, they threw away most of the plot! Such were the ways of Hollywood. Noble Johnson makes for the best Queequeg I've ever seen, though.

Although this film does suffer from Warner Bros. attempt to sex up the story from Melville's meditative original, it has some interesting original qualities all its own. First, it looks great. The rich details of the port, seedy taverns and docks lent a realism which was a delight to behold in itself. Second, Ahab is merely a harpoonist first class(or whatever they were called) at the beginning of the story, rather than captain. I wasn't sure where he got the funds to buy the old whaling vessel, but he transforms himself into the Ahab of the book--an interesting character arc of its own. I would never have envisioned Ahab as the care-free rascal engaging in crow's nest acrobatics as he does in this movie, but it serves as a contrast to the bitter, obsessed tyrant he becomes later on. His final triumph over Moby Dick and return to his sweetheart make for typical Hollywood pablum, but what's new, even after 70-odd years? In addition, much of the story is so land-locked, I was getting antsy for them to get to sea and get it on with MD.

This is a remake of the 1926 film THE SEA BEAST. John Barrymore stars in both of them. The movie is actually based on a stage play which explains a great deal about why the plot was changed so, dare I say it?, dramatically. Herman Melville contributed the title and a studio scriptwriter added everything else.

48 year old Barrymore plays 20-something Ahab Seeley, a happy go lucky sailor who is also a hard drinking woman chaser. We first see him doing acrobatic stunts from the crows nest of a ship (John is doubled by action film star Richard Talmadge). Ahab also has a brother named Derek (Lloyd Hughes) who stays on land and works in the local church. Plot complication 1: Ahab and Derek both fall for the same girl, the ministers daughter Faith (Joan Bennett). She rejects dull brother Derek for the more adventurous Ahab. ("But I'll always be putting out to sea." he says. "And I'll always be waiting for you." she says. Isn't love wonderful?)

Plot complication 2: On his next voyage Ahab gets his leg bitten off by (wait for it) a giant white whale named Moby Dick. At least they used something from the novel! Plot complication 3: When Faith Mapple sees Ahab with his peg leg she screams and runs off. This drives Ahab insane and he swears vengeance on the white whale.

Years pass and Moby continues to elude Ahab. He buys his own boat and becomes a skipper even more hated than Captain Bligh. His crew jumps ship leaving only his brutal First Mate Stubbs (Walter Long) and Ahab's only true friend Queequeg (Noble Johnson). Stubbs visits bars and brothels to shanghai a crew and accidentally grabs Derek Seeley who apparently has been drinking his troubles away since Faith rejected him (hmmm, should I make that plot complication 4? Oh never mind). During a storm at sea Derek tries to kill his brother but loyal Queequeg breaks his back. Oh and what about Moby Dick? Don't worry we haven't forgotten him; he finally shows up again so we can tie up all these loose ends. What happens? I won't spoil it for you; this movie runs now and then on TCM so you can "sea" for yourself (bad pun, I admit it).

John Barrymore overacts but what else is new? He loved his "mad" scenes and this time he gets to be looney for half the picture. After he goes insane his character begins to resemble Mr. Hyde, whom he played 10 years earlier. He even seems to be trying to re-create the Hyde character by stomping around the deck in a top hat and flowing cloak.

Noble Johnson is surprisingly good as Queequeg. He is constantly beating a drum to placate the sea gods and he is fiercely loyal to his captain. (When this movie was remade in 1956 German actor Friedrich Ledebur played the role and the character was expanded even more.) Lloyd Hughes is best remembered (by me anyway) for the 1925 version of THE LOST WORLD where he played reporter Ed Malone. Joan Bennett had a long career in movies and TV and is probably best remembered now for the terror/soap opera "Dark Shadows". Watch for silent film actor Nigel de Brulier as Elijah, the mad "prophet" who predicts trouble for Ahab early in the film.

I like this movie, now I wish I could see that 1926 version. Anyone know if it still exists?

160 years ago, Herman Melville put all humanity on a ship and sent them off to find out what God was thinking. In 1930 the Warner Bros. figured since nobody had read this book but might have heard of it, why not make a ripping sea movie with John Barrymore? Barrymore spends a great deal of the movie drinking and/or drunk, which I'm sure cut down on rehearsal time since it came naturally to him. The rest of the time he is the shell of the legendary actor that we have come to know. The love story is ridiculous, Noble Johnson is at least an interesting Queequeg and when at sea the film is undoubtedly salty. Just forget the source material and it's an enjoyable bit of early sound film making.

As others have mentioned, this is a very loose adaptation of the novel. The main reason to watch is Barrymore's performance as Ahab in this, the oldest surviving sound film in which he is featured. He transforms from a crusty lusty happy sailor into a very dark soul after Moby Dick bites off his right leg from below the knee. There is a scene relating to the cauterization of that wound that I find hard to watch today, so I can just imagine how 1930 audiences reacted. Ahab always fancied himself a bit of a ladies man and now he fears not so much how women in general will react to him but how his fiancée Faith(Joan Bennett) will react. His worst fears are realized when she first sees him after he loses his leg and she runs away screaming in horror. The complicating factor here is that Ahab's brother Derek considered Faith to be his girl before Ahab came into port and won her heart. Derek's pride was hurt when Faith picked Ahab over himself, and now he has an opportunity for revenge.

The precode elements in this filmed version include a heathen fellow whom Ahab becomes friends with and the fact that Ahab enlists the supernatural powers this fellow has via his gods on his worldwide quest to find and kill Moby Dick. You really have to marvel at the production values in this one. The sound mix is still Vitaphone - sound on disc - yet there are quite a few outdoor scenes and the film is not static at all. To put it mildly, the Warners were known for thrift, yet they took the time to make this one look good.

I don't understand the rather low rating on this one as I found it thoroughly entertaining and would recommend it for anyone who appreciates the early talkies and John Barrymore's acting talents.