Synopsis:
When a dolphin-training marine biologist (George C. Scott) and his wife (Trish Van Devere) are visited at their research center by a nosy journalist (Paul Sorvino), they soon learn about a nefarious plan involving their beloved animals.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• George C. Scott Films
• Kidnapping
• Mike Nichols Films
• Science Fiction
• Scientists
• Talking Animals

Review:
Director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Buck Henry teamed up for a third time — after The Graduate (1967) and Catch-22 (1970) — for this sci-fi-thriller adaptation of a 1967 novel by French author Robert Merle. Unfortunately, it’s a much less successful collaboration, ultimately coming across like a weird missed opportunity — a movie which surely would have been quite different in the hands of Roman Polanski (the originally intended director). Obviously, one must suspend disbelief right away in order to go with the film’s premise that dolphins have learned to understand and speak English:

… which at first seems reasonably plausible, but as the movie progresses and the dolphins are shown to possess even greater comprehension, I simply couldn’t buy it. To their credit, the cast seems fully committed:

… and there are a couple of character switcheroos that one doesn’t see coming. While it has its fans (see DVD Savant’s review, for instance), I’m more in agreement with Vincent Canby’s review for the NY Times in which he refers to this as “a Flipper film for adults, a Day of the Jackal for kids and a Lassie film for scuba divers of all ages.”

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• George C. Scott as Dr. Terrell
  
• William A. Fraker’s cinematography
  

Must See?
Nope; you can skip this one unless you’re curious.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• DVD Savant Review
• Moria Review
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Article