The Day of the Dolphin
| The Day of the Dolphin | |
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Theatrical release film poster by Tom Jung
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| Directed by | Mike Nichols |
| Produced by |
Robert E. Relyea Joseph E. Levine |
| Screenplay by | Buck Henry |
| Based on | The Day of the Dolphin by Robert Merle |
| Starring |
George C. Scott Trish Van Devere Paul Sorvino |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
| Cinematography | William A. Fraker |
| Edited by | Sam O'Steen |
| Distributed by | Avco Embassy Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.1 million |
The Day of the Dolphin is a 1973 American science-fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Loosely based on the 1967 novel Un animal doué de raison (lit. A Sentient Animal), by French writer Robert Merle, the screenplay was written by Buck Henry.
A brilliant and driven scientist, Jake Terrell, and his young and beautiful wife, Maggie, train dolphins to communicate with humans. This is done by teaching the dolphins to speak English in dolphin-like voices. Two of his dolphins, Alpha ("Fa") and Beta ("Bea"), are stolen by officials of the shadowy Franklin Foundation headed by Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver), the supportive backer of the Terrells' research. After the dolphins are kidnapped, an investigation by an undercover government agent for hire, Curtis Mahoney (Paul Sorvino), reveals that the Institute is planning to further train the dolphins to carry out a political assassination by having them place a magnetic limpet mine on the hull of the yacht of the President of the United States.
The novel was translated into English by Helen Weaver and published in the US in 1969 under the title The Day of the Dolphin.
The film version was originally going to be directed by Roman Polanski for United Artists in 1969, with Polanski writing the script. However, while Polanski was in London, England, looking for filming locations in August 1969, his pregnant wife, the actress Sharon Tate, was murdered in their Beverly Hills home by disciples of Charles Manson. Polanski returned to the United States and abandoned the project.
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