Moby Dick (1956 film) actor Walter Huston as Ahab, but he had died in 1950. Peck went on to play the role of Father Mapple in the 1998 television miniseries adaptation of Melville's novel, with Patrick Stewart as Ahab. Welles later used the salary from his cameo to fund his own stage production of "Moby Dick", in which Rod Steiger played Captain Ahab. Gregory Peck, comparing his performances in this film and the 1998 "Moby Dick" miniseries, said he liked the miniseries better because it was more faithful to the novel. During a meeting to discuss the screenplay, Ray Bradbury informed John Huston that
Moby Dick (1956 film) Huston met Peck dressed as Ahab when she visited the set of her father's film. Decades later, she and Peck would meet again and become close friends with each other until the latter's death. The film has an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus that "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." Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" called it "a rolling and thundering color film that is herewith devoutly recommended as one of the great motion pictures