*****CETACEOUS SPOILERS!*****

A little over 50 years ago, a movie came out starring one of my favorite actors, George C. Scott (1927-1999), that, until very recently, I’d somehow missed over the years. The movie is called “The Day of the Dolphin” (1973) and was adapted by the late comedy screenwriter and early Saturday Night Live mainstay Buck Henry (“The Graduate,” “Get Smart”) from a French novel (“Un Animal doué de Raison”) by Robert Merle.  Most surprisingly, the film was directed by Oscar-winning comedy/drama director Mike Nichols (“The Graduate,” “The Birdcage”).  An unusual pedigree for a sci-fi political thriller…

I recently bought the movie for next-to-nothing during a Kino-Lorber Blu-Ray sale (Kino  Lorber’s website has a great catalog), and fired it up on my digital HD projector for as close to a theatrical presentation as I could approximate, which punched up the aquatic vistas and island splendor, as brought to life by cinematographer William Fraker (“WarGames,” “Tombstone”).

Let’s dive in (hardyharhar)…

“The Day of the Dolphin.”

The movie opens with cetacean scientist Dr. Jake Terrell (George C. Scott) giving a presentation to students and colleagues regarding his work with a male dolphin named “Alpha” (Buck), who has lived solely in the care of Terrell’s team following his mother’s death.  Showing film of Alpha’s birth in captivity, Jake gives vague information on what he hopes to learn from dolphins, while shying away from specific questions on human/dolphin communication, and avoiding any details of his team’s secret research. Attending the presentation is Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver), head of the Franklin Foundation, which funds Jake’s research. We also see a curious, dark-haired man with eyes on both Jake and DeMilo…

Note: The work of Terrell’s team is based loosely on, or rather inspired by the work of dolphin researcher Margaret Howe Lovatt (b. 1942) and her team, who took part in a NASA-sponsored study to teach human language to dolphins in hopes of communicating with ETs someday. Her team’s work took place in a “dolphinarium” on the Caribbean island of Saint Thomas. The dolphinarium was a house purposefully flooded with water to accommodate their dolphin guests.  She and her team worked with several female bottlenose dolphins and one young male named Peter, who showed the most promise in making human sounds. Lowe and her fellow researchers would relieve Peter’s sexual frustrations ‘manually,’ in order for him to better focus on his training. The project collapsed when the young research team expanded their research using LSD (on themselves and the animals), and eventually lost both credibility and funding. For more, keep an eye out for the excellent BBC-4 documentary, “The Girl Who Talked to Dolphins,” wherever you can find it.

Following his presentation on the mainland, Jake returns to the remote island facility, where he finds that his young wife, Maggie (Trish Van Devere) injured her leg working with Alpha. During a private moment between them, she tells her husband that their adolescent prized pupil Alpha is sexually frustrated. Leaving Maggie to check on his Alpha, we see Jake interact with the four-year old dolphin, who enthusiastically greets him in English as “Pa.” The highly intelligent Alpha thinks of Jake and Maggie as his parents, and can enunciate many simple English words, though his snout prevents him from creating certain sounds, leading him to pronounce his own name as “Fa” instead of Alpha.

Note: Trish Van Devere is the wife (and widow) of George C. Scott, and has acted in a number of her husband’s films, including 1980’s “The Changeling,” which also happens to be one of my favorite haunted house movies of all time; an underrated classic.

Back in his office, DeMilo takes a meeting with the mysterious, dark-haired man we saw earlier, whom we learn is Curtis Mahoney (Paul Sorvino); a rogue government agent posing as a journalist.  Mahoney presents a file he’s made on the Franklin Foundation, which contains blackmail material regarding an operative of the group, and of DeMilo’s sexual orientation (this was 1973).  Mahoney then strong arms DeMilo into allowing him access to the island for a “story” he’s doing on the secretive Dr. Terrell’s research. Backed into a corner, DeMilo allows it, unaware that Mahoney has already scouted the island, and knows of Terrell’s research with teaching dolphins to speak English.

Note: Actor Paul Sorvino (1939-2022) is a longtime character actor with a rich career in film and TV, appearing in William Friedkin’s “Cruising” (1981), Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” (1990) and one of my other favorite little movies, “The Rocketeer” (1991). He also made a name for himself with Trekkies after an appearance as Lt. Worf’s human foster brother, Nikolai Rozhenko, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “Homeward.” The actor previously costarred with TNG cast member LeVar Burton in the 1979 TV-movie, “Dummy” (1979).  The late actor is also the father of Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino (“Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion,” “Mighty Aphrodite”).

The researchers then receive an unexpected visit from DeMilo, who arrives on the remote island via a small aquatic plane. The visit is something of an inspection, since the Foundation hasn’t received much communication from Jake’s team.  The wealthy DeMilo’s suit-and-tie manner contrasts with the more casual Jake, who does his best to play agreeable host, taking their moneybags visitor on a personally guided tour of the facility…

Note: Longtime actor Fritz Weaver (1926-2016) is best remembered for multiple roles in TV and film, including memorable roles in “The Twilight Zone,” “Columbo,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Marathon Man” (1976), “The Martian Chronicles” (1980) “Creepshow” (1982) and many more. Fritz Weaver could switch from cucumber-cool villain to sympathetic protagonist on a dime.

DeMilo is taken to one of the labs containing an array of tape recorders, where Jake plays multiple recordings of Alpha’s progress; going from nearly unintelligible noises to understandable English words.  Despite Alpha’s limited vocabulary, the dolphin is capable of understanding many more words and phrases than he’s able to articulate; so long as the words are issued simply and clearly. Their visitor is truly amazed. Before leaving, DeMilo meets others in the research team, including David (Jon Korkes), Mike (Edward Herrmann), Larry (John David Carson), Maryanne (Leslie Charleson) and Lana (Victoria Racimo), who’ve captured a female dolphin two months ago, in hopes of placating the sexually-frustrated Alpha. The female dolphin is named “Beta” (Ginger), but Alpha simply calls her “Bea.” 

Realizing the pairing of “Fa” and “Bea” is causing Fa to regress in his English-language studies, Jake separates the two in small pools divided by a metal barrier, without ample space to make long jumps for each other.  Both dolphins react wildly to their separation—with Fa repeatedly attempting to ram the barrier between them, but without success.

Note: Alpha and Beta are played by a pair of dolphins named Buck (after screenwriter Buck Henry, 1930-2020), and Ginger (after famed dancer/actress Ginger Rogers). In 1973, full-scale animatronics such as Bruce the shark in “JAWS” were still a year or two away, and modern computer-generated imagery was nonexistent, so real dolphins were the only answer. After filming ended at the Abaco Island location in the Bahamas, Buck and Ginger apparently escaped captivity and returned to the open sea, never to be located again. These days, the two of them would probably have been tagged with transponders.  Actor Robert Lidyard is credited with providing the toddler-like vocals of Alpha.

With Jake standing vigil near Fa’s pool day and night, he finally hears Fa articulate his needs to Jake in English; “Fa want Bea now!”  After reuniting the two aquatic lovebirds, Jake and his team are met with another visitor; Curtis Mahoney.  The plainspoken Mahoney doesn’t mince words, telling Jake and the others he knows enough about the dolphins to publish what he has, thus leaking Jake’s sensitively guarded research to the public, and turning the entire project into a public freak show.  To avoid this, Jake reluctantly agrees to allow the Foundation board members to see the talking dolphin in action first. 

Note: The shadowy “Franklin Foundation” is never explicitly defined, but all we need to know is that they are a wealthy, powerful conservative think-tank organization with a thing for Ben Franklin, who are pushing their own shadowy agenda ahead of the country’s, hence their bizarre plot we learn more about later on…

We then see DeMilo and others from the Franklin Foundation, including Wallingford (John Dehner), Dunhill (William Roerick) and Schwinn (Sven Darden)—all in suits and ties—assembled along the island’s dock in deck chairs, waiting to see the talking dolphin they’ve invested in.  Standing at the dock, Jake calls Fa and Bea to come over.  He demonstrates their ability to talk, and even field simple questions from the Foundation members.  The arrogant, cigar-chomping Wallingford spooks Bea, by falsely telling her there’s a shark in the water. This lie sends a panicked Bea jumping over the safety net, and into the open sea. Jake sends Fa to retrieve her, and angrily admonishes Wallingford, telling him the dolphins have no concept of lies. To them, everything simply is or isn’t.  When both dolphins return, Jake reassures them there’s no shark.

Note: The demonstration scene is one of the most interesting in the film, as it offers insight into how the dolphins think and perceive their world.  To the dolphins, there are no such things as lies; the world simply is or isn’t, with no hypotheticals or falsehoods.  It’s also interesting that the dolphins trust humans because humans are smooth, like themselves. In fact, they trust humans over their own sonar and heightened smelling senses, which could’ve easily told them there was no shark in the water.  The dolphins are intelligent, yes, but they are also innocent.

With the demonstration concluded, Jake and Maggie are invited back to the mainland overnight for a press conference, which they accept, taking their own boat to the mainland. Around the time Jake and Maggie depart, we see Mahoney and a shady-looking cohort secretly arriving back on the island by stealth; watching closely as Maggie and Jake depart…

Note: Much like his characters in “Goodfellas,” “The Rocketeer” and just about every other role he’s ever played, actor Paul Sorvino is once again playing a gruff, morally ambiguous type with a surprisingly soft center. Curtis Mahoney is set up as the red herring of the movie, when in truth, he’s just a bad guy sent to deal with even worse guys…

Early the following island, there’s a call to the island, which researcher David accepts. David tells the others that the call is from Jake. Yelling into the receiver as if compensating for poor reception, David reassures Jake that “it will be taken care of,” before the call is cut off.  After hanging up, David looks around at the others, who are rightly concerned…

Note: As they should be…

The next day, Jake and Maggie (our characters, not the Gyllenhaal siblings) are waiting on a couch in the Franklin Foundation’s reception area. There they sit—for hours—only to learn from DeMilo’s assistant, Mrs. Rome (Elizabeth Wilson), that the person in charge of the event has taken ill, and that all events for the day, including the presser, have been cancelled. Unwilling to return to their stiflingly hot hotel room with a busted air conditioner, a deeply irritated Jake and Maggie opt to return to their island…

Note: Special mention to Elizabeth Wilson as Mrs. Rome; it’s a small role, but a pitch-perfect portrayal of those always-smiling mediators who seem to take great delight in causing the rest of us inconvenience. In a couple of decades, she would’ve been right at home in Mike Judge’s 1999 workplace comedy, “Office Space.” 

Returning to the rainy island that night, Jake and Maggie find that Fa and Bea have been abducted, and that their own people unwittingly helped them, since David told them he was acting on Jake’s behalf.  Jake tells them he never spoke with David, and immediately realizes David lied, and was working for DeMilo’s people.  Just then, Curtis comes out from the shadows, finds a surveillance bug in their main lodging, and fills them in. “David” (not his real name) was indeed working for the Foundation, and Curtis was was sent to spy on him. Curtis tells Jake that all of Alpha’s tapes were stolen too. When the group heads to the lab, they find Curtis’ partner strangled to death with a chain, and left in Alpha’s tank. The sight shocks even Curtis, who becomes an ally to Jake’s team, since they’re all trying to stop the Foundation.

Note: Curtis is given the unenviable job of exposition dumping in this and in the following scenes, but actor Paul Sorvino makes it work.

The next morning, Curtis realizes that the president’s yacht is nearby, and that the Foundation is going to use Fa and Bea to plant a magnetic mine onto the bottom of the president’s yacht for their own political ambitions. Since Fa is able to speak English (however crudely), he’ll be a living witness, and will have to be killed. The only reason Fa and Bea are cooperating with the Foundation is because they trusted undercover operative David, since none of the other humans at the facility ever lied to them. 

Note: Okay, this is where the movie gets a little preposterous for me; wouldn’t it have been far easier to simply train human operatives with advanced diving equipment to place the mines on the bottom of the presidential yacht? Why the elaborate (and potentially unreliable) scheme with the dolphins? Given the Foundation’s power and influence, you’d think they could’ve planted a trained assassin within the president’s circle with far greater ease than this overly elaborate scheme.  Personally, I would’ve preferred to have seen this film’s talking dolphin idea attached to something other than a political thriller, which squanders this otherwise fascinating idea. Talking dolphins were later resurrected (with similarly mixed results) for the Steven Spielberg-produced TV series, “seaQuest DSV” (1993-1996).

Aboard the Foundation’s boat, David lays the magnetic mine carefully to a plastic collar that will be attached to Bea, who is now their hostage, after Fa escapes.  Wallingford takes a few shots at the fleeing dolphin, but the bullets stray off target underwater, and Fa’s swimming speed is too great for the older man’s aim. Meanwhile, the plastic collar and mine are attached to Bea, and she is instructed to head for the ‘other’ boat—the president’s yacht. 

Note: Another reason this plan is so shaky; Bea was not nearly as well-trained in English as Fa, and it’s possible she might’ve misunderstood or misinterpreted the command somehow. 

Fa returns to the research facility’s pier, and Jake asks about Bea. Fa tells him in his simple speech that Bea is about to place the “ball” (the mine) on the “other” boat. Jake, Curtis and Larry quickly take off in a speedboat with Fa leading them to Bea.  Realizing their boat is only slowing Fa down, they turn off the motor, as Jake tells Fa to swim ahead without them, and to tell Bea not to place the “ball” on the “other” boat.  Jake tells Fa the people giving Bea orders are “bad” men.  Immediately understanding, Fa dashes off in the direction of the president’s yacht. 

Note: Something about this scene reminds me of an old episode of TV’s “Lassie” (or perhaps “Flipper,” in this case), when the heroes would ask the star animal where the missing kid is, or which way to the old mine shaft, etc. It’s hard to decide if the actors should be playing it as straight as they are, or if they should be camping it up just a bit. 

Fa catches up with Bea, and the reunited dolphins communicate in the clicks and whistles of her dolphin language. Bea immediately changes course and swims toward the Foundation’s boat instead. We then see David, Schwinn and Wallingford, as they hear a loud metallic thud at the bottom of their vessel. Realizing what Bea’s done, David whimpers “Oh, shit!” just before their ship explodes in a billowing cloud of smoke, splinters and flames. 

Note: To my earlier point; training talking dolphins to use as assassins…what could possibly go wrong, right?

Bea and Fa both return to the facility, where they are greeted by Jake and Maggie at the dock. Larry spots a helicopter approaching, carrying DeMilo with more of his operatives. Jake realizes the researchers are going to be hunted and killed for what they know about the Foundation’s botched assassination.  While Fa and Bea are happy to be reunited with their human “Pa” and “Ma,” Jake has to use a bit of tough love as he tells his dolphin children to swim out into the open sea for their own safety, and never look back.  The dolphins are reluctant to go, until Jake urgently shouts for them to leave at once. 

Note: The two dolphin thespians Buck and Ginger actually give credible performances (no doubt aided with some judicious editing by Sam O’Steen). In fact, the two dolphins have more dimension than some of the underused human characters of the film.  Shame they didn’t stick around and learn how to sign autographs with their snouts…

After Fa and Bea head swim towards their new lives, Jake and Maggie face a less-than-certain future, as they hide out of sight between some trees, just as the chopper arrives, and the end credits begin to roll…

The End.

Note: Kind of an anticlimactic ending to an intriguing, if illogical story. This movie could’ve used something a bit more cinematic for its finale, or perhaps just a satisfying ending for our protagonists. But then again, this was the 1970s, and in those pre-“Star Wars” days, ambiguous or unhappy endings were all the rage.

Summing It Up

On the surface, the movie sounds ridiculous; George C. Scott (“Patton,” “The Changeling,” “Exorcist III”) and his team of researchers are literally training dolphins to speak English (albeit with a very limited vocabulary). The dolphins then appear on the radar of super-shady private operatives who want to use the creatures for the most ridiculously convoluted movie assassination plot I’ve ever seen.  With a few rewrites, this could’ve been a Buck Henry comedy, so there are definitely a few asks of a viewer to enjoy this film.

Despite the comedy credentials of those involved, the story is played completely straight, much like other gritty political thrillers of the time, such as “The Parallax View” (1974) and “Three Days of the Condor” (1975). “Day of the Dolphin” has the bearing of a full-bodied political thriller, despite the silliness of its premise, which you’ll either buy or you won’t. To his considerable credit, Scott gives it the necessary gravitas that this otherwise shaky premise needs in order to work. The late actor certainly didn’t pee in this movie’s pool…

There are a few other interesting names in the cast, including late actors Edward Hermann, Paul Sorvino, and the always-watchable Fritz Weaver, but it’s Scott who owns the screen every second he’s on it—even at the expense of his onscreen (and real-life) wife, Trish Van Devere.  Without an actor like Scott to anchor it, “The Day of the Dolphin” would quickly drown. The unsatisfying ending also does the movie no favors.  It really could’ve used a punchier, more audaciously cinematic finale, à la Steven Spielberg’s “JAWS.” Nevertheless, the premise is intriguing, and the dolphin ‘voices’ become plausible enough, with a little suspension of disbelief.

As it is, “The Day of the Dolphin” has just enough heft to it than its shaky sci-fi frame should bear, making it watchable for viewers with the requisite patience for 1970s pacing (before the internet obliterated our attention spans).  The movie also puts viewers into the mindset of a terrestrial intelligence other than human beings; something even the more successful “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (the one with the whales) didn’t quite achieve. “Fa” (Buck) and “Bea” (Ginger) are fully-realized characters, and the footage of them is truly extraordinary, considering the movie was made before sophisticated underwater animatronics or CGI were even possible.

The combination of solid performances (human and dolphin), sun-dappled cinematography and the star power of George C. Scott combine to make “The Day of the Dolphin” an interesting, if offbeat and eccentric sci-fi political thriller; a one-of-a-kind cinematic curiosity worth checking out. 

Where to Watch

The only free streaming service I could find “The Day of the Dolphin” on was an obscure site called Kanopy.com, which seems to be a student/university-based platform of some kind (?).  The movie is also available for more conventional streaming rentals on YouTube Premium, iTunes and AmazonPrime.  Of course, there’s also the aforementioned Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber (check out their same-named website; they have an amazing catalog of rare and obscure titles, including “Black Sabbath” and “The UFO Incident”; they have great sales now and then, too).  If one can afford it, I highly recommend the Kino Lorber Blu-Ray.