When it came to silent movie plots, even the most manly stories filled with rugged characters needed a romantic element to appeal to women viewers. Warner Brothers Studios was interested in producing a film based on one of America's greatest novels, Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick.' Unfortunately, its seafaring plot didn't contain one female in the cast of characters. Because of that, there was not one hint of a romantic angle to the book. That didn't stop the studio from going forward with the project of producing the first movie centered around the Melville classic, released In January 1926 as "The Sea Beast."
Actor John Barrymore lobbied aggressively to get the part of Captain Ahab. As an avid reader of 'Moby Dick,' Barrymore gave suggestions to scriptwriter Bess Meredyth on how to carve the script. She reportedly didn't incorporate any of his pointers, noting this wasn't going to be a romance. "What we are going to do for a love interest, I don't quite know," said Barrymore. "He might fall in love with the whale. Hollywood, I am sure, will find a way."
Meredyth finally found a way to squeeze a romantic subplot into the movie. Character Ester Wiscasset (Dolores Costello) becomes a lightning rod between Ahab (Barrymore) and his half brother Derek (George O'Hara). Both are gaga over the minister's daughter, which causes a rift between them when they're in pursuit of the large white whale. Derek takes advantage of the Ahab leaning over the bow of the small whale skiff and abruptly pushes him over. Moby immediately spots Ahab's meaty human leg to chomp on, hence explains his peg leg. Harboring a hatred towards the hungry whale, Ahab's personality turns from a happy-go-lucky captain to a mean, crusty, revenge-seeking brute. He becomes even more onerous when he discovers how he ended up in the ocean.
Barrymore, whose romantic eyes went from young actress Mary Astor to new girlfriend Dolores Costello, persuaded Warner to cut its original choice, actress Priscilla Bonner, for his lover. Bonner, upon getting the termination notice, abruptly sued the studio and won a hefty sum in an out-of-court settlement. Barrymore, who loved his drink, was pounding the bottle pretty hard during "The Sea Beast" production and appears on camera to be worn out with his bloodshot eyes and unshaven look. Studio producer Jack Warner told the director Millard Webb to praise the makeup artist for doing a great job on the actor. "That's not makeup," Webb said. "It's a hangover."
Barrymore's characterization of Ahab drew praise from a number of critics. It has been noted the actor excelled at playing deviates such as Mr. Hyde, and in Ahab he finds a perfect foil to display a physically and mentally tormented man. The public ate it up, filling theater seats so much "The Sea Beast" became the tenth greatest money maker in 1926. It would be another 30 years, however, for Hollywood to make a movie that would follow the Melville plot without the romantic element in John Huston's 1956 "Moby Dick."
