The 'blink and you'll miss it' continuity error in JAWS

When it comes to continuity errors, many JAWS fans love to point out that the 'Estuary Victim' (Ted Grossman) is barefoot in his little red rowboat yet his severed leg is wearing a sneaker. 

That's all well and good, but it's a little played out in fan circles.

Here's a lesser-known continuity error in the "pond scene' you can use to impress your JAWS friends:

After the attack, there's a shot of little Sean Brody crying in the sand. In this shot, Sean is wearing the wrong clothes. The reason is they stole that shot from the Alex Kintner attack scene, which was days, maybe weeks before. 

What happened to make him cry was this (according to Sean Brody actor Jay Mello in an interview at JAWS FEST 2005 on Martha's Vineyard) -- When Alex Kintner is attacked on his raft and all hell breaks loose on the beach, Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) came running up behind Mello and grabbed him off the ground as he was running. Because this wasn't rehearsed and little Jay Mello wasn't expecting it, it scared him so much that he started crying uncontrollably. Spielberg (whose idea it had been) apologized to Jay, explaining that he should have told Jay that Roy was going to do that, etc... 

So that shot of Sean Brody crying was really Jay Mello crying because Roy Scheider had scared the living shit out of him (!)

Anyway, Spielberg had that crying shot on film and decided it could be effectively edited into the pond scene, after Michael is nearly killed by the shark. 

Sean at the top of THE POND scene is wearing green shorts and a white t-shirt with orange trim:

After the attack takes place in the pond, Sean is suddenly wearing a plain white t-shirt and black shorts. This is the outfit he was wearing in the Alex Kintner attack scene.

Words by Doug Kennedy

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