Ep. 20 - The Day of the Dolphin

“Unwittingly, he trained a dolphin to kill the president of the United States.” What a tagline. This episode, Adam and Nate dive into The Day of the Dolphin (1973), a forgotten entry from director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, The Birdcage) that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Does this forgotten movie deserve a second look, or is its parody in The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror XI” (S12E1) segment “Night of the Dolphin” enough?

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Also in this episode:

• How the great Mike Nichols and George C. Scott ended up making a movie about talking dolphins

• Who is this movie for? Is it a political thriller or an animal movie for kids?

• Adam finds out whether or not dolphins can actually talk

• A preposterous plot… or is it?

Next time, Adam and Nate celebrate their second Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest with a surprise episode under the festive bush!

Every Simpsons Reference The Day of the Dolphin

By our count, The Day of the Dolphin has been directly referenced twice in the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons. The only reference appears in “Treehouse of Horror XI” (S12E1) from 2000, 27 years after the release of the movie.

Treehouse of Horror XI (S12E1): The title of the third segment, “The Night of the Dolphin,” is a riff on the title of this movie. Later, when the dolphins’ leader Snorky takes to the podium, his high-pitched speaking voice before clearing his throat is also a parody of how the dolphins speak in this movie. Ironically, his true voice, which is basically just an unadorned Harry Shearer, is closer to how the dolphins speak in the original book, Un animal doué de raison.

Extra Credit

Looking for more like this or an interesting double feature? Here are our recommendations.

• From Nate: Babe (1995)

• From Adam: Literally, any other movie.

Further Reading & Viewing

• Article: Lauren Aratani, “Russia deploys trained dolphins at Black Sea naval base, satellite images show,” The Guardian, April 27, 2022.

• Explainer: Lauren Aratani, “Licence to krill: why the US navy trains whales, dolphins and sea lions,” The Guardian, May 1, 2019.

• Video: “Inside Our Quest to Talk to Dolphins,” Quartz (YouTube), December 7, 2017.

• Article: Joann Greco, “The Psychonaut You Never Heard Of,” The Pennsylvania Gazette, June 20, 2017.

• Article: John Lahr, “Making It Real,” The New Yorker, February 13, 2000.

• Press Book: “The Day of the Dolphin Press Book,” Avco Embassy, 1973.

• Book Review: Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, “Tanked Bond,” The New York Times, May 16, 1969.

• Article: “James Bond 007: Never Say McClory Again”, Fanedit.org, February 08, 2023