Dickie Goodman had a top five novelty hit, "Mr.
Jaws", which mixed his rapid-fire mock interviews
with answers that were snipped from contemporary
hit singles. It began something like this...
Announcer: "We are here on the beach, where a
giant shark has just eaten a girl swimmer. Mr.
Jaws, how was it?"
Mr. Jaws: "Dyno-mite!"
Announcer: "And what did she say when you grabbed
her?"
Mr. Jaws: "Please Mister Please"
I excerpt "Mr. Jaws", not only because it was a
great novelty record, but because it demonstrates
the cultural impact of "Jaws". It became the
biggest grossing film of all time, eclipsing "The
Godfather", and subsequently eclipsed by "Star
Wars". Also making the top 40 was the theme from
"Jaws", an imposing classical score by John
Williams that succeeds in recreating the suspense
of a shark closing in on its prey.
"Jaws" is one of the best horror films of all
time. Most of the film is consumed by Chief Brody
(Roy Scheider), his humdrum family life, his
conflicts with the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) and
his male bonding with shark hunters Quint (Robert
Shaw) and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). But the film
still has similarities to slasher films, with the
aquatic version of Freddy Krueger scoring five
victims in gruesome fashion.
What separates "Jaws" from its landlubber
successors (e.g. "Scream", "I Still Know What You
Did Last Summer") is that the monster is more
credible, the victims are not limited to comely
teenagers, the script (based on Peter Benchley's
bestselling potboiler, the screenplay co-written
by Benchley and Carl Gottlieb) is much better,
and Director Steven Spielberg is much more
skilled at making horror suspense not seem like
bad horror comedy. Of course, the cast is better
as well. Scheider skillfully underplays, allowing
scenes to be stolen by excitable Dreyfuss and
salty Shaw. Hamilton also gives a great
supporting performance. His character is in
denial, hoping that the shark will just go away
so that the tourists will return.
"Jaws" was plagued by production problems. The
mechanical shark didn't work, and shooting on
location on the sea led to technical
difficulties. But the results were worth it, from
both a commercial and critical aspect. (84/100)
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