Greatest Movie Posters #8: THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN

By Simon Gallagher /

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My first addition to this series isn't exactly a household name, nor will you find critics singing its praises from their lofty positions. Because, sadly, The Day of the Dolphin was a load of old tosh- an overblown attempt at making a hit that just didnt achieve what it set out to do, largely thanks to the utter silliness of the thing. Just look at the IMDB synopsis:

Dr Jake Terrell, who has been training a pair of dolphins for many years, has had a breakthrough. He has taught his dolphins to speak and understand English, although they do have a limited vocabulary. When the dolphins are stolen, he discovers they're to be used in an assassination attempt. Now he is in a race to discover who is the target, and where the dolphins are, before the attempt is carried out.

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How this film flopped so badly I'll never know.

Anyway, the poster below is one of the only redeeming parts of the whole sorry affair and proves that film posters can be Great for more reasons than the most obvious ones...

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What makes it so good? It is one word, and one word only that makes this an exceptional poster. Whoever chose to use the word "Unwittingly" at the start of the poster's tag-line deserves to be knighted. Not only do I now want to go and re-watch this George C. Scott led marine assassination romp, I want everyone else to as well. You can find all our Greatest Movie Posters Entries HERE... and our whole gallery HERE.