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Jaws (1975): 15 Weird Facts You Didn't Know

Remember When

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Jaws (1975) — 15 Weird Facts You Didn't Know!

#rememberwhen Jaws made an entire generation afraid to go back in the water—and accidentally invented the summer blockbuster in the process? Released in 1975, Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking thriller starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton. Despite a famously troubled production, Jaws became the highest-grossing movie of its time, won three Academy Awards, and forever changed Hollywood.

These are 15 weird facts about Jaws, from mechanical shark disasters and legendary casting stories to behind-the-scenes production nightmares, famous improvised moments, real shark footage, and the incredible accidents that helped create one of the greatest movies ever made.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - #15: George Lucas Got Stuck Inside Bruce the Shark — George Lucas
01:44 - #14: The Crew Renamed Jaws "Flaws" — Steven Spielberg
03:13 - #13: Robert Shaw Was Cast Just Days Before Filming — Robert Shaw
04:26 - #12: Richard Dreyfuss Rejected the Movie Twice — Richard Dreyfuss
05:46 - #11: The Preview Screening That Ended in Someone Throwing Up — Steven Spielberg
06:56 - #10: Susan Backlinie Survived One of Spielberg's Toughest Stunts — Susan Backlinie
08:17 - #9: A Real Shark Accident Changed the Ending — Ron Taylor
09:34 - #8: Even the Orca Sank During Production — John R. Carter
10:59 - #7: Nobody Tested the Mechanical Shark in Salt Water — Bob Mattey
12:08 - #6: Robert Shaw's Drunken Monologue Became a Classic — Robert Shaw
13:39 - #5: Quint's USS Indianapolis Story Was Based on Real History — John Milius
14:44 - #4: Spielberg Paid for the Severed Head Jump Scare Himself — Verna Fields
15:33 - #3: John Williams' Two-Note Theme Almost Got Laughed At — John Williams
16:45 - #2: Spielberg's Oscar Snub Shocked Hollywood — Steven Spielberg
18:03 - #1: Who Really Wrote "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat"? — Roy Scheider

Want more deep dives into Sci-Fi movies we loved? Binge the full playlist here:
Sci-Fi Movies

#jaws #stevenspielberg #royscheider #richarddreyfuss #robertshaw #johnwilliams #sharkmovie #summerblockbuster #moviefacts #behindthescenes #filmtrivia #classicmovies #horrormovies
#sharkmovies #70sMovies #classicmovies #movietrivia #filmhistory #behindthescenes #genx #tvnostalgia

20 Comments

@MartinVedder-r7s 1 month ago

I saw Jaws in the theaters in 1975...I was 9 years old...traumatized me for years...it remains my favorite movie of all time

@jimbu6651 1 month ago

I saw Jaws in the theater. It was absolutely terrifying as I was only 13. It is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

@jimwoodard64 1 month ago (edited)

I had a friend who was in the movie. He was one of the kids who pops up underneath the fake fin. He points to his brother and says, he made me do it. Something like that. I have seen that movie at least 50 times in my life because I watch it every year. If a theater is showing it, I go see it still. I had a friend take me a couple years ago, because they were doing an anniversary release.

When the scene where the guy’s head pops out of the boat happens, I had been in the theater with my grandfather, who, of course took his two young grandsons to see the movie. I had a box of milk duds in my hand. I was fine until that head popped out with that eyeball hanging. I looked down at my milk dud and in my head, I saw an eyeball. I threw that box of milk duds in the air and screamed. Which got a laugh from my cousin and my grandfather. That was 1975, the summer of its release. I was 11!

One of the greatest movies of all time. Love it.

@bostonphotographer20 1 month ago

I love that Dreyfuss was so honest about himself

@nobbybrown8056 1 month ago

That film IS the reason I won't go in the water. It's over 50 years and it still gets me every time I go near the sea.
That, and of course all the actual shark attacks that have happened.

@ernieInJersey 1 month ago

Everything and everyone involved in this movie… was simply brilliant. The music always fit the scene. The shots added such emotion from Brody’s anxiousness to Hooper’s knowledge dumps to Quints overconfidence and then shaken confidence, to Vaughn’s agenda… even the quiet scenes with the younger son, Sean, told a human story. You felt like you were there. All that equates to a crime that Spielberg wasn’t at least nominated. Really!

@wadesworld2112 12 days ago

Robert Shaw's USS Indianapolis monologue is the best monologue ever recorded on film.

@Julie-p6u6m 1 month ago (edited)

Saw Jaws at a drive-in theater the summer it came out in Tacoma Washington when I was 16 years old. Since then it has always been one of my favorite movies! I rewatch it about every three or four years, just for the heck of it!

@sheilamoody8562 1 month ago

I can watch this movie over and over again...just love it..also we were in Marthas Vinyard and saw where they shot some of the scenes...really interesting!

@TerrickTerran 1 month ago

The rejection (if only temporary) of the Jaws theme has to be the most surprising.

@VincentScales 1 month ago

Several decades after the film's release, Lee Fierro (Mrs. Kintner) walked into a seafood restaurant and noticed an "Alex Kintner Sandwich" on the menu. She commented that she had played his mother many years ago. Jeffrey Voorhees, the manager of the restaurant who had played Alex, ran out to meet her. They hadn't seen each other since the original movie shoot. The Wharf Pub is located at 3 Main Street in Edgartown, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard.

@NPinto-nw9vd 1 month ago

Those're some amazing facts. Sounds way more than one or two times this film should never have gotten finished. Then, all the fighting-back against the film's collapse managed to bring about one of the greatest films since the beginning of moving pictures!

@maryweas6385 1 month ago

Such a great movie! ❤ I love it when Hooper pulls the license plate out of the sharks stomach and Chief Brody says "he didn't eat a car, did he?" 😂

@midago7332 1 month ago

2 years ago o read the book for the first time and loved it. I first saw this on Blu-Ray in a ps 4 bundle and it blew me away, been. One of my faves of all time. I have seen a bunch of effects laden films and saw this as a cinema re release last year and it is one of the most satisfying cinema visits ever. Those 3 leads are just amazing .

@wstine79 1 month ago

"The Shark is not working. The Shark is not working."
"The Shark is working. The boat is sinking."

@glazdarklee1683 1 month ago (edited)

I was in Junior High when this came out, and my mom felt that I was too young to see it. This, appropriately, made the movie seem even scarier than it really was. And in an ironic twist, since I couldn't see the movie because it was considered too much for my delicate sensibilities, I checked out the book from the library and read that instead. Clearly, my mother had not.

@terrytexas8257 1 month ago

I was only 11 when this movie came out, and everyone was talking about it. But the whole fear factor of the head rolling scene and cutting open the one shark had me so scared to watch in fear that I would throw up that I didn't see the movie until the mid 80's. Which by then the special effects from over a decade really didn't bother me. But it is a classic jump scare for sure. I even remember an episode of All in the Family mentioning how Mike and Gloria hadn't seen Jaws yet. All in the Family at the time was the number 1 show on TV and to plug the movie....Awesome!

@lorimitchell4280 1 month ago

One of the BEST ever.

@LoveMaskedBandits 1 month ago (edited)

I learned several new things I wasn't aware of. Thanks! I had to read the book in high school before the movie came out.

A few facts to add:

-The shark tooth in Ben Gardner's boat was upside down.
-Susie who played Chrissy has passed on. We live a couple towns over from Weeki Wachee. Cool to learn where she worked, although we've never been there.
-The author, Peter Bentley became an advocate for sharks because everyone was killing them after the movie came out. He also played the reporter on the beach in the movie.
-Robert Shaw (Quint) was assigned someone to follow him around to keep him from drinking, but he was able to sneak away sometimes. He is drunk in a few scenes.

My favorite shark movie!

@Watcherfangers 1 month ago

When "Jaws" was first released, it was so popular and so crowded, the theater in my little town devoted 3 of its 6 screens to handle the crowds. No back to back consecutive viewing allowed. I was 15. Once was enough for me.