In his August 15, 1930, review,
The New York Times critic
Mordaunt Hall compared
Moby Dick to
The Sea Beast: "Enhanced by a variety of sounds and the power of speech, the audible picturization…(is) a far more impressive melodrama than the silent version, which was presented here three and a half years ago. And John Barrymore, who fills the rôle of the indomitable, half-crazed Ahab Ceeley, gives a performance that puts his work, even the latter part of the mute offering, in the shade. With all the liberties taken with the original story, … It is a well-knit tale of the men who went down to the seas in whaling ships and when one hears the man in the main top shouting, "Thar she blows!" it creates a thrill such as the screen is seldom capable of affording. One is willing to overlook melodramatic glimpses, for the picture as a whole is splendidly handled. Twice during the unfurling of this story the screen is enlarged and compelling scenes are projected. Sometimes it is the whaler under full sail silhouetted on the sun-silvered, choppy sea. Another time it is the wild-eyed Ahab's ship battling against a realistic storm. Then there are flashes of the shanghaied crew, a gang of cutthroats described as more accustomed to murder than hurling harpoons at whales.The story races along, and it matters not if the whale is real or not, for the effect is there, whether the white monster of the deep is pulling the small boat through the water at amazing speed, dashing it to bits with a swish of its tail, or, when its great bulk is seen with what looks like a Lilliputian sticking something that looks no larger than a good-sized needle into its half-submerged form. Then follow close-ups that last night caused more than one woman to cover her eyes with her program, for in these glimpses Ahab is seen vigorously getting his revenge on the white whale that had bitten off half his right leg in an earlier cruise.The scenes in New Bedford and the romance of Ahab and Faith are capitally pictured and flawlessly acted....Lloyd Hughes has a real opportunity this time, in the part of the treacherous Derek, to reveal his histrionic ability...There is also a clever dog, (whose devotion)... is subtly portrayed in contrast with the conduct of Faith when she is shocked by the realization that Ahab has returned with a peg-leg. Lloyd Bacon, the director, has done an excellent job. He has inculcated feeling into his picture as well as lending to it sterling photographic effects. Moreover, he has taken full advantage of the chances for sound, whether it is the lapping of the water, the noises aboard ship during the excitement of sighting a whale or those on the vessel when the whalers return joyously to their home port. Mr. Barrymore is Mr. Barrymore of the stage in this film, and not the great silent lover who is made to turn his profile to the camera on the slightest provocation. Words bring out his true talent, ...There is no shilly-shallying in his portrayal of the character, which makes a whaler a man of the seas, one who gloats over the tattooed figures of women on his arm and who evidently only represses oaths when confronted by the charming presence of Faith. Although there is the sequence where a red-hot iron is used on the stump of Ahab's leg, it is filmed less extravagantly than it was in the old silent film. True, there is the agony and the director does not mince matters in giving the details, but once it is over he shifts quickly to a gentle scene depicting Faith in her home. (Miss Bennett's) ...acting is enough to make even a hardened soul wish for a happy ending.
The Sea Beast was a huge success...but this vocalized "Moby Dick" should reap an infinitely greater reward." ==Preservation status==