The Day of the Dolphin (novel)

Lore & Background

The novel was published in French in 1967 under the title Un animal doué de raison, which translates literally to "an animal endowed with reason." The English translation appeared in 1969 with the title The Day of the Dolphin, which is not a literal translation of the French title. The story centers on a government scientist whose ideas parallel those of John C. Lilly, and involves dolphins trained to communicate with humans and deployed in warfare.

The novel served as the basis for the 1973 film The Day of the Dolphin, though the film's plot differed significantly from the book, even in inconsequential details. For example, in the book the dolphins are named Ivan ("the terrible") and Bessie, and call themselves Fa and Bi; in the film they are named Alpha and Beta and call themselves Fa and Be.

Reception was mixed. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt reviewed the translated novel favorably, calling it "a provocative and altogether chilling science fiction thriller – an Ian Fleming with humanity." Joanna Russ, however, described it as "pure commodity: written by the yard to be bought by the yard" and dismissed it as a "vast, contentless, commercial megathere."

Reader's Guide

The Day of the Dolphin occupies a notable place in science fiction literature for its exploration of animal intelligence and the ethical implications of using animals in warfare. Robert Merle's novel, published in 1967, anticipated later debates about dolphin cognition and military applications. The book's reception highlights a divide between those who saw it as a compelling thriller and those who viewed it as a commercial product lacking substance. Its adaptation into a 1973 film, though significantly altered, brought the premise to a wider audience. The novel remains a reference point for discussions of dolphin communication and the militarization of nature, and it is often cited alongside the work of John C. Lilly, whose ideas influenced the central character.

Did You Know?

• The original French title, Un animal doué de raison, translates literally to 'an animal endowed with reason.'
• The English translation was published in 1969, two years after the original French edition.

Production Turmoil and Directorial Changes

The road to getting this film made was anything but smooth. Roman Polanski was originally set to direct and write the screenplay for United Artists back in 1969. But while he was in London scouting locations in August of that year, his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered in their Beverly Hills home by followers of Charles Manson. Polanski returned to the United States and walked away from the project entirely. The following year, Franklin Schaffner was announced as the new director for the Mirisch Corporation, but those plans also fell through. Joseph Levine ultimately purchased the project from United Artists and brought it to Mike Nichols. Production was shot primarily on Abaco Island in The Bahamas, and by all accounts it was grueling. George C. Scott, who was paid $750,000 for his lead role, reportedly held up the shoot for three days at the very start, claiming a virus. Nichols later called it the toughest shoot of his career. Levine himself admitted the film simply did not gel and questioned whether Nichols was the right director for the material.

Plot and Thematic Core

At its heart, the film follows Jake Terrell, a driven scientist who, along with his wife Maggie and a small crew, trains dolphins to communicate in simple English at a remote island facility. Alpha, nicknamed Fa, has been raised in captivity for four years and is taught basic speech. When a wild female dolphin named Beta, or Bea, is introduced, Fa temporarily reverts to his native language before teaching Bea to understand English as well. The research is funded by the Franklin Foundation under Harold DeMilo. Tensions erupt when a government operative posing as a journalist uncovers the project and threatens to expose it. The conspiracy deepens when it emerges that the Foundation intends to weaponize the dolphins for a political assassination using a magnetic limpet mine. In the climax, Fa intercepts Bea and redirects the mine onto the conspirators' own vessel. In the final moment, Jake orders both dolphins to escape into the open ocean, choosing their freedom over the bond they have formed with him and Maggie.

Reception and the Critical Divide

Critics were sharply divided on the finished product. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker delivered a withering verdict, suggesting that if talking dolphins represented the best idea Nichols and Henry could muster, they should abandon filmmaking altogether. Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic was equally dismissive, feeling the picture was rushed through production with no real effort beyond the opening minutes. On the other side, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune praised the film as a fable celebrating communication and love, crediting Scott's performance for making the material resonate on a deeper level. Despite the critical split, the film earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score and Best Sound. Commercially, however, it underperformed, though Levine noted guaranteed pre-sales of over eight million dollars, including interest from NBC in a television adaptation. Alpha the dolphin was named best animal actor at the 24th Patsy Awards. As of March 2022, Rotten Tomatoes shows a 43 percent score based on 28 reviews.

Source Material and Real-World Inspiration

The film is credited as an adaptation of Robert Merle's 1967 French novel Un animal doué de raison, translated into English by Helen Weaver and published in the United States in 1969 under the title The Day of the Dolphin. However, the screenplay by Buck Henry diverges substantially from Merle's original, which was a Cold War satire. The movie draws significant inspiration instead from the real-life work of John C. Lilly, a physician, biophysicist, and neuroscientist who specialized in consciousness research. In 1959, Lilly founded the Communications Research Institute on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where he directed studies into dolphin intelligence and human-dolphin communication until 1968. This real-world foundation of scientists attempting to bridge the communicative gap between humans and cetaceans provided the emotional and scientific backbone for the Terrell story, even as the plot's political thriller elements and assassination subplot were largely the screenwriters' own invention.