by Ted Davis
Directed by: Millard Webb
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: A very loose adaptation of the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick which strays far from the source material, but is nonetheless a satisfying adventure-melodrama. Harpooner Ahab Ceeley (John Barrymore) is a carefree, happy-go-lucky kind of guy, deeply in love with his pure and lovely fiancée Esther Harper (Dolores Costello), and looking forward to a long fruitful life together after their forthcoming nuptials. But all that changes when his jealous two-faced brother Derek (George O’Hara) pushes him into the sea to be chomped on by Moby Dick, the legendary Great White Whale. After forfeiting his leg, Ahab becomes morbidly obsessed with hunting down the offending whale and is much given to episodes of self-mutilation and the compulsive fondling of razor-sharp harpoon blades, all of which conclude when his brother’s perfidy is revealed and Moby Dick is once again sighted!
Purr Blur: During a raging typhoon, the ship’s tabby cat is rescued by a nearby sailor from being swamped.
Final Mewsings: That’s one ship’s cat who will be glad to leave his seafaring days far behind.
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