to go, having formed a bond with Jake and Maggie, but Jake gruffly orders him to leave; eventually, both dolphins escape, leaving Jake and Maggie awaiting DeMilo and reflecting on what happened. Cast George C. Scott as Dr. Jake Terrell Trish Van Devere as Maggie Terrell Paul Sorvino as Curtis Mahoney Fritz Weaver as Harold DeMilo Jon Korkes as David Edward Herrmann as Mike Leslie Charleson as Maryanne John David Carson as Larry Victoria Racimo as Lana John Dehner as Wallingford Severn Darden as Schwinn William Roerick as Dunhill Elizabeth Wilson as Mrs. Rome Phyllis Davis as Receptionist Production 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. The following year it was announced Franklin Schaffner would make the movie for the Mirisch Corporation. These plans were frustrated and Joseph Levine ended up buying the project from United Artists for Mike Nichols. Scott was paid $750,000 for his role. The film was mostly shot on Abaco Island in The Bahamas. Production was extremely difficult. Scott allegedly held up production for three days at the start of the shoot. Nichols later described it as the toughest shoot he had done to date. Reception The film received mixed reviews when released in 1973. Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker, suggested that if the best subject that Nichols and Henry could think of was talking dolphins, then they should quit making movies altogether. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune penned a positive review commenting that, "Ultimately, The Day of the Dolphin works because of the values it celebrates and Scott communicates. The values are communication and love. In spite of their material, Nichols and Scott have given us a film that reminds us what love and care can do not so much for the object of affection, but for the person who tenders it. On that level, The Day of the Dolphin is really a fable." Stanley Kauffmann of The