The Day of the Dolphin

George C. Scott stars as a scientist who has trained dolphins to speak and understand English. Naturally some bad guys find out and want to use the dolphins in an assassination attempt.

One of the many ecological "message" films of the 1970s. The plot is, technically, pretty silly but they pull it off. It has a great director (Mike Nichols) and Scott and Trish Van Devere are very good--but this just misses the mark. It's not a BAD movie just not a great one and I personally had some trouble taking it seriously. It was supposed to be a big hit and cost quite a bit to make. Unfortunately it was a HUGE bomb and disappeared quickly. That's too bad because it's actually pretty good. It's well done and the voices of the dolphins are (at first) frightening but you get used to them. Also it does have an ending which had me crying. I defy anyone to sit through that and not be moved.

So, despite the scientific improbabilities, a pretty good movie that deserves a wider recognition.

One of my favorite films that really brings out your emotions especially in the end also accompanied with a great musical score. One of George C. Scott's many great portrayals and just simply beautiful.

I agree with the assessment that the movie points out how we, as caretakers of the Earth, tend to abusiveness and misunderstanding. I agree also that it is a hokey telling of that theme, but still effective. I might venture that a contributing factor in its effectiveness is the beautiful music created by George Delerue. It is lilting and graceful, moving through the air the way the dolphins move through the water. I was very affected at the end of this film.

I think I was six when I first saw it. I might have been five. It's always been my favorite movie.

All I can remember, and I don't know how many times I've seen it since, is that I cry when I do. I wouldn't have known who George C. Scott was, then, but he certainly adds to the drama.

This is a classic. This is about the United States, about the people of the world. This movie is a classic - eternal.

I don't know that I understood, then, what was truly going on - that scientific discovery, technology - as precious and valuable as it is, was going to be corrupted to carry out an assassination plot.

It's almost eerily reminiscent of 9/11. But we didn't stop 9/11.

Maybe what needs to change is the way we see the world, whether we're 6, or 86. This is a movie for all to see, especially children. This is a movie that will bring us together, and instruct us about the dangers of not only technology, but also the sometimes destructiveness of human nature.

Throughout the motion picture business there is many a thespian who truly believes in their role. Some more than others and is why a few become exceptional. The original script called " The Day of The Dolphin " was delivered to several actors, prior to the film's inception. When the principal actor read the interesting dialog between himself and his subject called Alpha, he was not only intrigued, but anxious to begin. The story centers around a Research Scientist named Dr. Jake Terrell (George C. Scott) and his wife Maggie. (Trish Van Devere) Their secret island project concerns a special Dolphin, whom they have raised since birth. In an amazing feat of Phonetic science, laboring on the cutting edge and years of patience instruction, they have taught their unique Dolphin to speak English. However, their financial benefactors are not men with lofty ideals like Dr. Terrell or his staff. Indeed their primary goal is to use the amazing oceanic mammal to swim underwater undetected to a secured location where the President of the U.S. is vacationing and eliminate the Chief Executive. Although it's Harold DeMilo (Fritz Weaver) the C.E.O. of the funding institute who plans on subverting Dr. Terrell's innovative project, it's a strange, mysterious and uninvited visitor, Curtis Mahoney (Paul Sorvino) whom they suspect is behind the theft of their special Dolphin and a midnight murder. Trust is not inherent between the characters, indeed the audience is in for a surprise or two. However it's this very element which gives the film it's dramatic texture. The cast is incredible and delivers a dynamite performance which as a result allows this film to become a Classic. Excellent movie. ****