The Beard in New Bedford
; or, on the time that Gregory Peck judged a beard contest and ate some whale
For my last post, I wrote about Ahab’s “gnarled” beard and Gregory Peck’s influence on its increasingly Amish style in depictions since the 1956 film. But when the movie wrapped, the beard was an considered an embarrassment by Warner Brothers executives, erased from posters, and mocked by reviewers invited to see previews. A film that had cost nearly $5 million and several miserable years to make — not to mention several action scenes which risked Peck’s life — was almost considered dead-on-arrival because of some ill-conceived facial hair.
Warner Brothers panicked, and in a fight-or-flight decision opted to go all-in. They would make Peck’s Lincoln-esque chin so ubiquitous that it disappeared, sparing no expense on a world premiere that would surpass even the most elaborate Hollywood spectacles. Representing the film, of course, would be Peck, director John Huston, and the actor who played Queequeg, the not-so-Polynesian Count Friedrich von Ledebur of Austria — an old friend of Huston’s, it turns out. And it would be held not amid the glamor of Los Angeles or the bright lights of New York City but in the relative hamlet of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Huston remarked that “It would be sacrilegious to hold it anywhere else,” apparently forgetting that while in the film Ishmael departs from New Bedford rather than Nantucket, he says he “had no idea of so doing” in the book.
Regardless, to this day there’s almost certainly never been a celebration of Melville or Moby-Dick on anything like this scale, with an eye-popping 100,000 people participating in three days of events centered on the film. For that reason alone it warrants a proper retelling and some poking and prodding at the margins. But reading various accounts of the festivities, some of the individual details were too bizarre not to dig into deeper. Aside from the massive parade, there were period-costume dances, boat races, orphans, whale meat, and a contest to grow the most Ahab-like beard, judged by Peck himself. It was clear that I needed to learn more about this premiere and, as if my very life depended on it, find pictures of these Ahab-bearded men.
New Bedford Gets Ready to Gam
Production on Huston’s Moby Dick adaptation wrapped a year behind schedule in late 1955. The Hollywood press, which had been closely following the adventures and follies of the film, couldn’t wait to get a look at one of the most anticipated releases of the decade. Gossip columns had also jumped in on the action in August 1955 after Peck had hurriedly divorced his wife (and mother of his three children) Greta Kukkonen and married French journalist Véronique Passani, with whom he’d been having an affair since filming Roman Holiday. He and Passani were married on December 31, 1955, a day after his divorce was final.
Despite the drama and Warner Brothers’ hesitation about the movie, their publicists pulled out all the stops for a three-day premiere/celebration set for late June 1956. Journalists and film critics from around the country were invited to attend, eagerly embraced by the residents and businessmen who leaned into the city’s inescapable association with the novel. Signal flags from old whaling ships were strung all through downtown; mementos, artifacts, and paintings from the city’s whaling days decorated shop windows; and, in kinship with New Bedford’s stunt double Youghal, Ireland, where all the scenes on land were filmed, an Irish flag was raised over City Hall. The town’s mayor, Sean P. Daly, was also flown in for the occasion.
Warner Brothers also seized the opportunity to include local creatives to help with the promotion. Local artist Walter Owen and a team from the Swain School of Design produced a fake Time Magazine program about New Bedford for the visitors. Perhaps their most outlandish idea was to create replica $2 bills from the city’s whaling days as issued by Mechanic’s Bank of New Bedford. The $2,000 worth of real money required approval from the U.S. Treasury Department, to be handed out to VIPs and journalists and used in local stores for the duration of the premiere only. The project was said to be the first of its kind ever conducted in the United States and, after the bills were printed, the plates were destroyed by government order.
Now, while I wasn’t able to confirm that Mechanic’s Bank of New Bedford actually ever issued $2 bills, much less ones with whaling scenes on them, there is this $1 issue which certainly fits the… bill. (Maybe they were changed to $2 bills to avoid confusion with real historical bills?)
Note also that the whaling scene on the original bill was based on the painting Peche De La Baleine by Ambroise Louis Garneray, which Ishmael calls out as being “by far the finest” presentation of whaling scenes, worthy of being hung at Versailles. “Who Garnery the painter is, or was, I know not,” he comments, “But my life for it he was either practically conversant with his subject, or else marvellously tutored by some experienced whaleman. The French are the lads for painting action.”
With about a week left to go, New Bedford Mayor Francis J. Lawyer issued a proclamation declaring it “Moby Dick Week” and called on all citizens to join in on the celebrations.
WHEREAS: The fair City of New Bedford on the banks of Acushnet has been immortalized in American literature by the genius of Herman Melville in his classic epic of the sea, "Moby Dick or the White Whale;" and
The tale of our city's olden fame as the foremost whaling port of the world has now been retold through the graphic art of the motion picture by Warner Brother's production of "Moby Dick;" and
New Bedford has been most appropriately chosen as the scene and place for the premiere display of the visual reproduction of "Moby Dick:" and The honor thus bestowed upon our city and all of its people is cause for legitimate civic pride; and
The occasion will serve to re-emphasize the high place New Bedford holds as a landmark of locale in the history and literature of America,
I, Francis J. Lawler, mayor of New Bedford, do hereby proclaim the week of June 24 through June 29, 1956 as "Moby Dick Week" and call upon all of our citizenry to join in the civic and social celebrations commemorating the glory of the past of New Bedford as the foremost whaling port of the world, and from pride in such past accomplishments, to take hope and courage for the future welfare of our municipality."
The New Bedford Standard-Times greeted newcomers with a large cartoon, also created by local artist Walter Owens, “as their personal greeting to the stars and guests from out of town, an appreciation of the new picture, and those responsible for making it a great occasion at the scene of the original classic.” It might not have received the same adulation from Ishmael as Garneray, but I’m sure everyone felt welcome just the same.
The plan was to show the film nearly simultaneously at three theaters in close proximity, staggered just enough to allow Peck, Huston, and von Ledebur time to personally introduce the film to each audience. But before the curtains were drawn and the lights dimmed, Warner Brothers was determined to throw what would be long remembered as the city’s “social event of the century.”
The Premiere—First Day
The party couldn’t start without the guests of honor, and they arrived in style. On the evening of Monday, June 25th, Huston and Peck flew from New York into New Bedford on a specially-chartered United Airlines Convair rechristened the “Moby Dick Special,” recording radio interviews en route.
The Standard-Times had announced their arrival a week earlier, and invited the entire city to greet them at the field. An estimated 10,000 people heeded the call, waiting for hours before its scheduled 8:55pm arrival and kept entertained by the journal’s “Standard-Times Newspaperboys Brass Band.” Another 25,000 people lined their motorcade route to their hotel, waving placards, shining torches, and shouting "We want Peck!"
When the guests finally made their way through the impromptu parade, they docked for the night at the New Bedford Hotel, which was not only one of the premiere landing spots for out-of-towners, but featured two whaling-themed bars — the Jolly Whaler and the Spouter-Inn, the former constructed as the interior of a whale ship and with glass portholes overlooking the ocean.
It’s unclear whether the guests visited either bar, though for what it’s worth Peck was known as a heavy drinker throughout his life, so fond of Guinness that he had a tap installed in his house.
The Premiere—Second Day
More formal ceremonies began at 10 a.m. the next morning, starting with Mayor Lawler and members of the City Council — many wearing fake beards — presenting Huston and Peck with keys to the city on the steps of City Hall.
Peck then assisted Mayor Lawler in dedicating “Herman Melville Square” at the corner of Williams St. and Pleasant St., flanked by City Hall and the New Bedford Free Public Library. Greeting them at the square was the recently-crowned Miss New Bedford Carole Adams.
Sadly, the dedication was for show only, staged by Warner Brothers as a photo opportunity. The town seems to have quickly forgot about the naming, which the Berkshire Eagle noted “was about the only time [Melville’s] name was mentioned during the whole three days.” Poor Herman — always the runner-up, never Miss New Bedford.
From there, the stars and press were shuttled around town to see the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Seamen’s Bethel, New Bedford Harbor, and the Durant Sail Loft, the last surviving stone waterfront structure from the city’s whaling era. It’s worth noting if only for its own oddity is that the visitors caught rides around town with teenage members of New Bedford’s car clubs, known for their custom jackets straight out of Grease. One journalist along for the ride wrote that “these lads were not the usual ‘young toughies’ who are so commonly associated with this costume. [They were] allied in courtesy—not crime, and they did a magnificent job.”
I wasn’t able to pinpoint which clubs or find photos of the car enthusiasts, though one area club at the time were the Night Prowlers, who wore this amazing jacket.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with luncheons, a meet and greet with Girl Scouts, and a buffet supper at the Wamsutta Club to which Peck personally escorted two of Herman Melville’s granddaughters. It’s unclear which of Melville’s four living granddaughters were present, though all four were then in their 60s and 70s.
The day concluded with three concurrent dances, two by invitation only and with mandatory period costumes. For the older set, who might even have had their turn-of-the-century gowns stored away, was the “Gam” at the whaling museum. Huston commented that the dances were “extraordinary—old ladies in the most beautiful old dresses you ever saw.” Meanwhile, the New Bedford Hotel hosted a “Junior Gam” for the younger crowd, and for the rest of the hoi polloi there was a massive square dance out in the open on State Pier with an estimated 10,000 in attendance.
Making stops at each of the dances was New Bedford native Paul Clayton, a folk singer whose grandfather had been an outfitter for whalers around the turn of the century. While still a teenager, Clayton had struck gold while digging in the archives of the whaling museum, discovering “tattered composition books and ledgers” containing long-forgotten sea shanties which he revived and put on wax. Just a few months after the film premiere, perhaps hoping to capitalize on the hubbub, Clayton released one of his best-known albums, “Whaling and Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick.”
The night closed with an event which, for some, had been several weeks in the making: the beard contest, which went through preliminary and semi-final rounds at each of the dances. First prize was $100 offered by theater owner Harry Zeitz (worth over $1,000 today), plus a $25 defense bond from Warner Brothers. This “lowest lay” was won by Herbert M. Souza, a laborer at a rubber company, seen here with Peck.
Coming in second was Arthur Hood, I believe the man in the middle of the image below, who won the considerably less valuable prize of two weeks’ free shaves at a local barber shop. Now, color me somewhat suspicious given Peck’s hotel accommodations and propensity for drinking, but Hood was a bartender at the New Bedford Hotel. Just something to think about!
The Premiere—Third Day
The final day of the premiere began early on Wednesday, June 27th with a visit to the Sol-e-Mar Children’s Hospital in Dartmouth and the St. Mary’s Home orphanage — probably just a good deed but, in my mind, a call-out to Ishmael and the very last word of the book. Sol-e-Mar, on the other hand, was been founded in the 1880s by philanthropist Amelia Hickling Jones, the daughter of one of New Bedford’s most successful whaling merchants. Using the wealth that put the city on the map, Amelia donated a million dollars (nearly $20 million today) and the family’s 166-acre farm to create a hospital for children suffering from ailments such as infantile paralysis, rickets, and scoliosis.
At both stops, Peck and Huston signed the children’s autograph books and read to them from the movie tie-in comic book published by Dell.
With their good deeds out of the way, the guests were shuttled back to New Bedford Harbor where they awaited the “Moby Dick Regatta” sailed by Beetle Cat-class sailboats at the Marine Park, awarding trophies to the winners
Their appetites piqued, the battery of guests and press correspondents moved onto the Red Brook Farm in Marion, MA, a small farm owned by Earl W. DeWalt. It was here that they were treated to a traditional New England clambake, stuffed to the gills with clam chowder, steamed clams, corn on the cob, lobster, sausage, potatoes and watermelon. DeWalt earned the honor of hosting by being chairman of the premiere planning committee, a fact that made it into his obituary when he died 55 years later.
It was presumably on the way to the clambake (and not afterward, too full to breathe) that Peck and crew stopped at Gaudette’s Pavilion in Acushnet and “ate Norwegian whale meat” per the Standard-Times. You may recall that earlier this year I considered the question of whether, as the 1960s buttons claimed, Melville ate blubber. While I could only speculate that the answer is a likely yes, if we’re to believe reports it seems that Gregory Peck also ate some whale in his day.
Back in the city, upwards of 100,000 people were lining up for the two-hour long parade, led by the “salty veteran captain” Llewellyn Roberts. The parade started at Weld Square, proceeding down Purchase St. to School St., swinging around Pleasant St. and finishing by heading north to City Hall. Peck waved to the adoring crowd from the back of a convertible.
One reporter, on location from the far away Zanesville, Ohio’s Sunday Times Signal, described the pandemonium as the parade drove by.
The afternoon saw a riotous parade of floats, bands, marching units and open cars bearing the movie principals. There were 100,000 spectators-deep on the sidewalks and leaning from every window. Torn paper and ticker-tape floated down from the surrounding buildings, creating a snowstorm in June.
At Union and Purchase Streets…, the crowd broke police ranks and surged around Peck's convertible. This act was repeated about every two blocks throughout the remainder of the parade, But, unlike Custer's men, the final stand by hard-pressed police stood off the packed and prevented the people from engulfing the car.
Peck, unruffled and smiling, reached out to shake hands and touch others. Bobby-soxers swooned at his touch.
Other participants included Melville's granddaughters and Amos Smalley, a 79-year old Gay Head Indian (like Tashtego) who claimed to have harpooned a white whale in 1902 while aboard the barque Platina. He later told his story to Reader’s Digest, published in June 1957 with the title “I Killed ‘Moby Dick.’”
The Springfield Morning Union was thoroughly impressed by the attention showered on the guests and New Bedford’s turn in the spotlight, writing: “The city was theirs. All were the center of a ceaseless whirlpool of autograph seekers with Mr. Huston and Mr. Peck seldom able to extricate themselves from clamoring admirers.” Decades later the Standard-Times echoed the sentiment, adding that while the premiere events as a whole left an indelible impression, “what everyone remembers is The Parade. Crammed with marchers, bands and floats, it probably stands as the city's most memorable parade of the 20th century.”
Miraculously, the parade was captured in this minute-long news reel, also showing Peck’s arrival, the beard contest, and scenes from the premieres.
YouTuber MLBaron uploaded another short video of the parade, this one in color, showing Peck being driven down Purchase St. and waving to the crowd.
With everyone feted out of their minds, it was time to watch the movie they’d all been celebrating for days—a canny marketing strategy. As the film critic for the Berkshire Eagle put it, “After we had been wined, dined, petted and patted, loaded with gifts and smiled on by Peck, Huston and all our hosts, finally we were allowed to see the movie.”
Tickets for the premiere were set at $1.50 (about $17 today), though patrons were encouraged to include an extra $4 donation to fund student scholarships. The first ticket was purchased by Senator John F. Kennedy, who apparently came by to see the movie, though I couldn’t find any photos of him there.
The film was shown nearly simultaneously at three theaters, starting at 8 p.m. at the State Theater, the Empire Theater at 8:35 p.m., and the New Bedford Theater at 9:05 p.m. Huston, Peck, and von Ledebur ran around town introducing the film at each theater and gave quick radio interviews in the lobbies. The hysteria overwhelmed even the stars. At one stop, Peck commented: "I've been to premieres in Hollywood and New York, but nothing has ever matched this."
Huston was even more effusive, touched by the town’s uninhibited, arguably unhinged, response:
“Some people are inclined to think that the making of motion pictures is entirely commercial, but can you believe that when you see a whole town turn out to pay tribute to your efforts, as is being done here? I can’t get over it. I’ve been to a lot of these so-called premieres, all carefully planned and executed by clever press agents. But here a town and its people took over. My God, what an experience it has been.”
Peck and Huston left by train the next morning and the buzz in New Bedford finally came to end. When members of the press corps returned to their papers of origin and filed their reports, they were thoroughly exhausted but impressed. The New York Daily News proclaimed that New Bedford “will never be the same—that’s for sure. From now on, history in that old New England whaling center will be divided into two parts: what happened before and what happens after the the three-day, three-theatre world premiere of “Moby Dick.” The reporter from Zaynesville’s Sunday Times Signal wrote slightly more poetically about the calm that would return quiet, seaside town.
For New Bedford, the pace of life has returned to normal. In the immediate future, there’s no more glamor, no more cinema excitement. But for tens of thousands of residents there is a burning memory of the single moment when this old whaling port was Broadway, Hollywood and Vine and Bedlam rolled into a three-day package of thrills and excitement and bound together by band music, feminine squeals, chin-whiskers, and Huston, Peck and Company.
Epilogue
But how memorable was the premiere, really? Just in the last few years several members of the New Bedford Ma. Historic Photo Club Facebook group have posted photos and memorabilia from the events, each time garnering dozens of comments reminiscing about exactly where they stood during the parade, what they wore, and places they spotted Gregory Peck, now nearly 70 years later. Here’s just a sample:
But was it a success? Well, kind of. As I talked about last week, film critics still criticized the beard as well as Huston’s choice of Peck to play Ahab. (Among other issues was his age — Richard Basehart, who played Ishmael, was nearly two years older than Peck). But over time, it’s unequivocally become the standard of Moby Dick film adaptations for better or worse and, despite its flaws, currently has an 81 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For New Bedford, though, it meant the world. To this day, the Standard-Times periodically recalls the week that Hollywood came to town, posting photos of Peck blessing this and signing that. The book, and therefore the movie, are always on the city’s mind particularly given the whaling museum’s annual Moby-Dick Marathon.
In November 2006, though, it wasn’t the book they were honoring, but rather an Inception-style level of delightful Moby Dick navel gazing. That month, the city held a party for the 50th anniversary of the film premiere, recreating many of its elements from the parade to the gams to the screenings and even the beard contest. That is, it was a parade celebrating a parade celebrating a movie celebrating a book celebrating a city. Residents were asked to dress in period costumes once more from the ‘50s — that is, the 1950s, chasing a whale float down the streets of downtown. Mayor Scott Lang addressed the crowd, celebrating not only the city’s history with the whaling industry and Moby-Dick, but also another proud part its past: a glamorous movie premiere which put the city back in the "national conscience."
References
“'Moby Dick' Premiere Offers Fun...,” Standard-Times, June 17, 1956
“Lawler Issues ‘Moby Dick Proclamation,” Standard-Times, June 17, 1956
"Captain Llewellyn Roberts, 'Moby Dick' Parade Chief, Has Sailed Ships on 7 Seas," New Bedford Standard-Times, June 17, 1956
"New Bedford First to Greet 'Moby Dick,' Truly Great Film," Boston Globe, July 1, 1956
"Moby Dick Premiere," Morning Union, July 1, 1956
Milton R. Hass, “The Lively Arts,” Berkshire Eagle, July 3, 1956
“‘Moby Dick’ — the city’s premiere event,” Standard-Times, April 3, 1983
A Picture History of New Bedford, Volume Two — 1925-1980, Spinner Publications
Bob Coltman, Paul Clayton and the Folksong Revival, 2008
Gary Fishgall, Gregory Peck: A Biography (2002)
Was in New Bedford last January reading in the Moby Dick Marathon. Would love to go again next year but a very long way!!