Splash Movie

Photograph of Tom Hanks holding Daryl Hannah as mermaid from the movie Splash with blue illustrated text in the upper right and black copyright text on the bottom. When turned, the photograph changes to Daryl Hannah laying on the beach with the blue text on the upper left.

Ron Howard’s 1984 film, Splash, was the first film released by Touchstone Pictures, a Walt Disney Studios label geared toward adult audiences. The cast included major names for the time: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, John Candy, and Eugene Levy. The film tells a tale of a mermaid in New York, long lost first loves, and a crazed scientist desperate to prove that mermaids exist. The film was an overall success, grossing $69.8 million in the United States and Canada during Splash’s initial run. Although Splash was nominated for six Saturn Awards, Daryl Hannah took home the only win for Best Actress. Splash also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, which was written by Bruce Jay Friedman, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel.
There are many promotional posters for Splash, including two different images of Tom Hanks holding Daryl Hannah. In one, he is wearing a suit jacket and in the other, he is not. While there are several posters that feature Daryl Hannah without her character’s tail, the majority of posters do feature her character as the mythical mermaid, complete with her orange mermaid tale.