It was an ordinary day. Found a couple of my old Peter Benchley novels that I had read years ago. Started checking the dates on some of the books and found that I had read The Deep in 1976, The Island in 1979, The Girl of the Sea of Cortez in 1982, The Beast in 1991 and then I picked up Jaws and saw that it was written by Benchley in 1974. After being published in 1974 it spent 44 weeks on the bestseller list scaring the bejesus out of just about everyone who read it. And, to top that off, Benchley co-wrote the screenplay for the movie "Jaws" with Carl Gottlieb, Howard Sackler and John Milius and then the Steven Spielberg movie opened a year later and scared the bejesus out of the rest of the population. I don't believe there was anyone who hadn't heard of the movie which starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. The movie grossed over $100 million in the US alone and earned $470 million worldwide. My guess is the oceans and seas were partially empty the summer of 1975. I can remember being worried about letting my children swim in the ocean in front of our beachside rental in Sea Isle City that summer. Who wouldn't be worried when Carol and I had just seen shark hunter Quint, police chief Martin Brody and oceanographer Matt Hooper catch a huge shark in the waters off of Amity Island in New England. And then I read that Benchley based the movie on a real-life news report of a fisherman catching a 4,550 pound great white shark off the coast of Long Island in 1964. Matter of fact, I still worry about swimming in the Atlantic Ocean during our summer vacations. It's been 40 years since the movie was released and it is still shown on TV every year. Just to try and scare me! And, it works!! Recently there was a quiz published in our local paper asking multiple-choice questions about the movie. Such things as:
- What is the story base on? A. An original screenplay, B. A novel by Peter Benchley, C. A remake of a movie in the 1950s.
- What role did F&M College graduate Roy Scheider play? (F&M is located in Lancaster, PA, my home town) A. Police Chief Brody, B. Quint, C. Matt Hooper.
- Which of these actors did not star in "Jaws"? A. Robert Shaw, B. Richard Dreyfuss, C. Robert Duvall.
- Who wrote the original soundtrack? A. Hans Zimmer, B. Henry Mancini, C. John Williams.
- Who many Academy Awards did "Jaws" win? A. 3, B. None, C. 1.
Well, we leave for vacation in a month or so and now I have this to worry about once again. My grandkids all want to swim in the ocean off the Jersey shore at Ocean City, New Jersey. I guess if their parents don't worry about it, maybe I shouldn't either. Naw, that's not gonna happen, since I still can't get that shark out of my mind, landing on the back of the boat named Orca and swallowing Quint. But, I'll tell you one thing, I won't be gettin' in any shark infested waters!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
PS - 1 - B, 2 - A, 3 - C, 4 - C, 5 - A (Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Sound. Spielberg wasn't nominated!)
When at Ocean City, have your grand kids watch the dolphins swim north to feed in morning, then swim south. in afternoon all about 75 to 100 yards off shore. They're so graceful and beautiful to watch. Sometimes, if close enough, with your head in the water, you can hear their high pitched "screech".
ReplyDeleteWe've never tried to listen to them, but we have seen them swimming off shore. You're right when you say the grandkids love watching them. I'll pass it along about putting your head in the water to listen for them.
ReplyDelete