Synopsis of Movie

Don’t ask why, but little girls always aspire to be the following: super heroines, career women, princesses and mermaids. Before The Little Mermaid's Ariel inspired little girls to centipede in their swimming pools, hold their breath as long as they could, and play mermaids all the livelong summer day…there was Daryl Hannah in Splash.

As a young boy in 1959 Cape Cod, Allen Bauer falls off a ferry and is saved by a beautiful little mermaid. Flash forward twenty-five years, and Allen’s a fruit wholesaler, perpetually unsuccessful in affairs of the heart. After his latest girlfriend dumps him, he journeys back to the Cape island that holds such warm childhood memories for him.

Once again, Allen falls overboard, and since he still hasn’t taken any swimming lessons in the last quarter of a century, he still needs to be saved. The little mermaid that rescued him the first time is grown-up now, and she comes to the rescue once again. Because of the bump on his noggin, Allen doesn’t remember a thing.

But the mermaid does. She carried a torch (well, not literally) all these years. Using the address from the wallet he’s left behind, she emerges from her liquidy home and her tail becomes two legs. Bravely, and quite nakedly, she enters the Big Apple to find her landlubber love. Named “Madison” for the New York street, the humanized mermaid learns English from the television, she shops, she devours lobster. Allen’s ga-ga, but he doesn’t know she’s not quite of his own species, and Madison nearly blows her cover when she takes a saltwater bath and her fin unfurls.

Unfortunately, Madison also attracts the attention of evil scientist who wants to take her back to his lab, run some tests, and possibly sushi-fy her in the name of science. And to make matters worse, there’s a ticking clock—if she’s not back in the ocean shortly, she will die. Goaded by his wiseacre brother Freddie, Allen makes plans to rescue his girl.

Splash was the first (sea)horse out of the gate for Touchstone, a Disney branch created to release the company's non-kiddie fare. Erstwhile actor Ron Howard (Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, American Graffiti) had directed before, but this was his foray into the mainstream. These were also star-making turns for the cast: Tom Hanks (who had come from TV—Bosom Buddies most famously), Daryl Hannah (who showed a comedic charm not found in her fightin’ replicant Blade Runner role), and SCTV's Eugene Levy and John Candy.

Splash made quite a [insert bad pun here] at the box office, propelling its director and stars on to even bigger projects. A TV-movie sequel, Splash, Too, arrived in 1988, but neither Howard nor his cast made the return voyage.

Movie Release History

1984 - Splash

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
comedy
disney

Movie Studio

Touchstone, Disney

Cast

Allen Bauer  Tom Hanks
Madison  Daryl Hannah
Walter Kornbluth   Eugene Levy
Freddie Bauer  John Candy
Mrs. Stimler  Dody Goodman
Mr. Buyrite  Shecky Greene
Dr. Ross  Richard B. Shull
Jerry   Bobby Di Cicco
Dr. Zidell  Howard Morris
Tim, The Doorman  Tony DiBenedetto
Michaelson  Patrick Cronin
Michaelson's Partner  Charles Walker
Claude  David Knell
Junior  Jeff Doucette
Buchwalter  Royce D. Applegate
Augie Tony Longo
Ms. Stein  Nora Denney
The President  Charles Macaulay
Dr. Johannsen  Ronald F. Hoiseck
Bartender  Lou Tiano
Manny  Joe Grifasi
McCullough  Rance Howard
Wife  Corki Grazer
Husband  Fred Lerner
Lt. Ingram  David Lloyd Nelson
Fat Jack  Al Chesney
Stan, the Tour Guide  Lowell Ganz
T.V. Dept. Manager  James Ritz
TV Salesman  Maurice Rice
Rudy   Babaloo Mandel
Dr. Hess  Pierre Epstein
Girl at Wedding   Cheryl Howard
Girl at Wedding   Louisa Marie
Wedding Guest   Valerie Wildman
Wedding Guest   Christopher Thomas
Wedding Guest   Richard Dano
Wedding Guest   Clint Howard
Man with Date   Ron Kuhlman
Girl with Date  Lori Kessler
Sergeant Munson  Joe Cirillo
Parilli  Tom Toner
Sergeant Leleandowski  Lee Delano
Man by Elevator  Jack Denton
George  Nick Cinardo
Policeman  Fil Formicola
Mr. Ambrose  Than Wyenn
TV Reporter  Clare Peck
Dr. Fujimoto  Eileen Saki
Reporter  Jodi Long
Reporter  Victoria Lucas
Reporter  Jeffrey Dreisbach
Reporter  Amy Ingersoll
Reporter  Daryl Edwards
Reporter  Jack Hallett
Ralph Bauer  Bill Smitrovich
Mary Bauer  Nancy Raffa
Young Allen   David Kreps
Young Freddie  Late
Young Madison  Shayla Mackarvich
Apartment Dweller  Ilana Rapp

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