Orca (1977)

A hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.

Director:

Michael Anderson

Writers:

Luciano Vincenzoni (story and screenplay), Sergio Donati

Stars:

Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Richard Harris	...	Captain Nolan
Charlotte Rampling	...	Rachel Bedford
Will Sampson	...	Umilak
Bo Derek	...	Annie
Keenan Wynn	...	Novak
Robert Carradine	...	Ken
Scott Walker	...	Al Swain
Peter Hooten	...	Paul
Wayne Heffley	...	Priest
Vincent Gentile	...	Gas Station Attendant
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Dock Worker

Storyline

After witnessing his mate and child's death from Nolan's hands, Orca, the killer whale, goes on a rampage in the fishermen's harbor. Under the villagers' pressure, Nolan, Rachel and an Indian sail after the great beast, who will bring them on his own turf.

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Plot Keywords:

creature feature | grindhouse film | drive in classic | murder | blood | 

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Taglines:

Terror just beneath the surface

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Netherlands Italy UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Killer Whale

Filming Locations:

Malta

Box Office

Gross USA:

$14,717,854

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Films (II), Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character name of the central character, Captain Nolan, played by Richard Harris, is similar to Captain Nemo from the Jules Verne classic story "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870). Director Michael Anderson later directed the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997) television movie, and also directed the classic Verne adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days (1956), as well as one of its remakes Around the World in 80 Days (1999).

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Goofs

When Nolan yells for the ship to go hard to port, he points to his right, which would be starboard.

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Quotes

[Captain Nolan has just seen the orca kill a member of his crew after the orca knocked the house into the ocean. He then looks out to the water & sees the killer whale leaping out of the water, breaching]
Captain Nolan: You revengeful sonofabitch! You win!
[the orca keeps breaching, as if taunting Captain Nolan]
Captain Nolan: You want revenge? Well, you'll have it! I'll come out and fight you! You revengeful sonofabitch!
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Network TV version had at least one additional scene where Nolan (Richard Harris) visits Annie (Bo Derek) at the hospital, after her leg was bitten off.

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Connections

Featured in I Love the '70s: Volume 2: 1977 (2006)

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Soundtracks

My Love, We Are One
Performed by Carol Connors
Music by Ennio Morricone
Lyrics by Carol Connors

User Reviews

The Killer Whale

Although warned about the dangers of hunting a killer whale a fisherman by the name of "Captain Nolan" (Richard Harris) disregards the warning and sets off with a small crew to capture one alive. Unfortunately, things don't turn out as planned and he ends up accidentally killing a pregnant female killer whale and its unborn offspring as well. Having witnessed their deaths, the male killer whale now wants vengeance. So he follows the boat back to its port and attempts to create enough havoc offshore to force Captain Nolan to come back to sea and settle the score once and for all. Now, while I certainly have no doubt that killer whales are quite intelligent, I have to admit that this particular movie went more than a bit overboard with this entire scenario. To that end, I thought that the talents of Charlotte Rampling (as "Rachel Bedford"), Bo Derek ("Annie") and the aforementioned Richard Harris were completely wasted by this ridiculous plot. I have rated the film accordingly.