MOBY DICK Fact. In the 1956 film Moby Dick, the whale was made of plastic and rubber stretched over a steel frame and it was controlled electronically. Two additional whales were made as back-ups. The three whales were constructed at a cost of between $25,000 and $30,000 each. Two were lost in the sea when towlines broke and for years were seen bobbing about the high seas, mistaken for the real thing. The Ode Come all you gallant lads, and a tale to you I'll tell. Of a queer thing as'appened off Cape Clear. How we foundered in a gale, a-hunting of a whale Tis 'orrible. 'Twill make you spill yer beer!
'Twas in the year of '56 when we said goodbye to land And set off to hunt the Great White Whale We was sailing full an' bye, heading for the Isle of Skye By way of St James and old Kinsale
'Twas a fine and pleasant day, with the seagulls in the air A-following us as all them seagulls do When I thought I'd have some fun, so I took out my old gun Just to see if I could bag me one or two.
Now I aint one o' them twitchers, and all birds look the same So I pops away quite heedless, as yer do. And I shot a brace of bigguns, Mother Carey's chickens And a parrot, a rare Norwegian Blue.
Now when I got that parrot, the crew they gave a gasp 'Cos shooting of a parrot is a hex They fished that parrot in, tried revivin' it with gin But 'twere dead, so they hung it round me neck.
I felt like The Ancient Mariner with that thing upon me chest But it certainly served to make me think To shoot a Norwegian Blue is a rotten thing to do And t'weren't long before it began to stink.
The crew they kept their distance, and nobody talked to me And the wind increased into a fearful gale Then the lookout in the crows, bellowed loudly "Thar she blows" (Which means he thinks he sees a whale)
The Skipper ordered "Away all boats" and we began to row And we was chasing after that old fish We pulls her up 'longside, bungs a 'arpoon in his hide Then he gives his tail a mighty swish.
I fell into the briny sea and thought I'd breathed me last But I fetched up on that great levi-a-than That old fishes blubber was all slippery, made of rubber And on his back there stood another man
He offered me his hand and pulled me up to him Saying "Welcome aboard, I'm out for a cruise" "My name is Gregory Peck. What's that thing about your neck?" "I believe it's one of them Norwegian Blues"
I said as how it was, an' told him my sad tale But seeing the funny side, we had a laugh Then he put me safe ashore, in a place they call Tramore But before I left, I got his autograph.
That's the end of my little story that I relate to you Of how I sailed upon a plastic levi-a-thon Where is that old parrot? It wasn't worth a carrot I gave it to the crew of the S.S. Monty Py-athon.