Gregory peck plays the role of ahab as if he was born to it... when the crew signed on they were told the stakes and warned of ahab's obsession with the white whale yet they went to sea with him hoping to make their fortunes through the price of lamp oil... they swore an oath to ahab to follow him as he deemed ... if you haven't read the novel then you missed one the greatest pieces of literature in american history so shame on you... thank you john huston for bringing this epic tale to the screen.