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4 unusual facts about The Day of the Dolphin


Robert Merle

His novels Un animal doué de raison (A Sentient Animal, 1967), a stark Cold War satire inspired by John Lilly's studies of dolphins and the Caribbean Crisis, and Malevil (1972), a post-apocalyptic story, were both translated into English and filmed, the former, in 1973, as The Day of the Dolphin.

The Day of the Dolphin

The third segment of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XI, called Night of the Dolphin, is a comical homage to this film.

In 1959, he founded the Communications Research Institute at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and served as its director until 1968.

After the dolphins are kidnapped, an investigation by an undercover government agent for hire, Curtis Mahoney (Paul Sorvino), reveals that the Institute is planning to further train the dolphins to carry out a political assassination by having them place a limpet mine on the hull of the yacht of the President of the United States.


Helen Weaver

A Sentient Animal, Robert Merle (1967, translated 1969, as The Day of the Dolphin, the basis for the film of the same name)


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