The Day the Fish Came Out (1967)

A plane carrying a weapon more dangerous than a nuclear weapon goes down near Greece. To prevent panic, the officials go in dressed as tourists (who are dressed so casually that the pilots ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Cacoyannis

Writer:

Michael Cacoyannis

Stars:

Tom Courtenay, Sam Wanamaker, Colin Blakely

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Courtenay	...	The Navigator
Sam Wanamaker	...	Elias
Colin Blakely	...	The Pilot
Candice Bergen	...	Electra Brown
Ian Ogilvy	...	Peter
Dimitris Nikolaidis	...	The Dentist
Nikos Alexiou	...	Goatherd (as Nikolaos Alexiou)
Patricia Burke	...	Mrs. Mavroyannis
Paris Alexander	...	Fred
Arthur Mitchell	...	Frank
Marlena Carrer	...	Goatherd's Wife
Tom Klunis	...	Mr. French
William Berger	...	Man in Bed
Kostas Papakonstantinou	...	Manolios (as Costas Papaconstantinou)
Nikos Papakonstantinou	...	Manolios

Storyline

A plane carrying a weapon more dangerous than a nuclear weapon goes down near Greece. To prevent panic, the officials go in dressed as tourists (who are dressed so casually that the pilots assume that they are all gay). The pilots are not to make themselves known and can't contact the rescue team. The secrecy causes a comedy of errors including the desolate Greek Isle deciding that since tourists have now arrived, they have to become touristy.

---

Plot Keywords:

resort | tourist | greek island | nuclear bomb | bikini | 

---

Taglines:

After "Zorba" -- The New Cacoyannis Film ...

---

Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

Greece UK USA

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

26 October 1967 (UK)

Also Known As:

...Otan ta psaria vgikan sti steria!

Filming Locations:

Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Michael Cacoyannis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer-producer-director Michael Cacoyannis was also the film's costume designer.

User Reviews

A subtle and intelligent black comedy

I was 15 when I saw this movie, and it really got to me. I remember well the paranoid fears it set into my teenager mind, as making me aware of the annihilation danger we were all living in, if only... Definitely, it became one of THOSE "warning-movies" that prevented the disaster to happen (same as Stanley Kramer's "On the Beach", for instance) - what we could call: "An anti-fulfilling prophecy" (by contrast with the "self-fulfilling" ones).

By all means, it's a very subtle and intelligent piece of work. The harsh humor, with black and erotic overtones, the pointed satire, the sharp accents of social criticism, all contribute to build up that kind of deliberately deceit that eventually becomes all the more efficient. The perverse fun builds up with a well mastered precision, until the final frenzy that precedes the radioactive poisoning - a well deserved bow for Cacoyannis, in this sense, as he proved to coordinate such an exact vision, different of the wider and deeper poetry or grandeur of his other movies. Now, decades later, I can still feel how the demented laugher froze in my throat, the moment when that haunting final shot suggested total extermination. "Attention, please! Attention, please! Attention, please!..." - for years, I've repeated it in my mind, never having enough of that unique, and so strong, warning; again, it's kindred with Kramer's "There is still time, brother!"