The Day of the Dolphin story

movie: The Day of the Dolphin (1973) · 1973-12-19

A brilliant scientist and his young wife train dolphins to communicate with humans.

7 total · 4 major · 3 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
exploitation of sentient beings major Jake worried that his talking dolphins would be exploited for commercial purposes if news got out that he had taught them to speak. His fears were subsequently confirmed.
familial love major Jake developed a deep a loving relationship with the pair of talking dolphins and vice versa.
husband and wife major Dolphin researchers Jake Terrell and Maggie Terrell.
problem of language and meaning major Jake and Maggie taught dolphins to speak English, but the dolphins' use of the language was sufficiently idiosyncratic that it sometimes needed to be interpreted by Jake to be clearly understood by others.
blackmail minor A criminal used information on Harold DeMilo's homosexual activities to blackmail him.
murder minor A talking dolphin was witness to a murder.
weaponization of animals minor A reporter asked Dr. Terrell if he his researching about communicating with dolphins had any military applications. Later some unscrupulous people kidnapped one of the talking dolphins and attempted to get it to plant a mine on the side of a ship.