阿哈博(格利高里·派克 Gregory Peck 饰)是裴庞德号的船长,在一次航行中,阿哈博遇见了白鲸莫比迪克,莫比迪克袭击了阿哈博,咬断了他的一条腿,从此往后,阿哈博和莫比迪克成为了一生之敌。 伤势痊愈后,阿哈博便开始了他的复仇计划,整天驾驶着裴庞德号在茫茫大海中寻找莫比迪克的踪迹。仇恨的火焰烧灼着阿哈博的脑神经,让他的神智逐渐混乱。终于有一天,阿哈博发现了莫比迪克的踪迹,在长达三天的追踪之后,阿哈博终于刺中了莫比迪克,令其身受重伤,然而,莫比迪克并没有就此认输,而是负死顽抗,争斗之中,莫比迪克咬碎了小船,借用绳索套住了阿哈博,欲与他同归于尽。
Based on the novel by Karel Capek, the prominent Czech writer of the early 20th century who coined the word robot for his play R.U.R., the story revolves around a discovery of Krakatit - a powerful explosive - by Prokop, an experimental scientist who, following an accidental explosion in his lab, slips in and out of delirium. When he realises that, in a delirious period, he has given the formula for making Krakatit to one of his colleagues, he tries to find the man, who does not realize how dangerous a thing Krakatit is. In the process, he nearly gives his discovery away again to foreign interests, a group of anarchists, and even greater forces of darkness...