The shark movies that came before JAWS
Hello, Islanders.
Thanks to the success of JAWS, for nearly five decades cinemas have been well stocked with films featuring sharks. From three JAWSsequels to films like Deep Blue Sea, The Meg, The Reef, Open Water and dozens of others, the shark has been the go to monster of choice for filmmakers and fans the world over. But what about the world before JAWS. Let’s take a look at some of the more well-known shark films released before 1975.
WHITE DEATH (1936)
Filmed in Australia, the film tells the tale of popular Western author and big game fisherman Zane Grey, who plays himself, as he hunts for an elusive Great White Shark, referred to by the locals as “white death.” The story was inspired by Grey seeing a great white shark (which he nicknamed "white death") being captured near Bermagui in New South Wales. Frank Harvey was hired to write the screenplay. The story drew on Grey's real-life experiences with the character of Newon Smith sending up his treatment at the hands of the RSPCA.
In 1935-36 Zane Grey made a fishing expedition to Australia. This trip was extensively covered by the local media and Grey was often accompanied on his sea voyages by three cameramen he had brought out from America, including H.C. Anderson. Grey's activities were criticised at the time by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Barrier Reef Productions, a production company capitalised at £15,000, was formed in 1936 to make the film.
THE SHARKFIGHTERS (1956)
Two decades after White Death comes a film that takes place in Cuba where the U.S. Navy has assembled a team in an attempt to create an effective shark repellant to protect sailors who find themselves in the water. Among the team members is an officer whose ship was sunk by the Japanese, resulting in many of his crew being attacked by sharks. The film is set in 1943, so this was not inspired by the tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, an event that was not commonly known until the 1970s. The payoff for shark film fans comes when the officer insists on testing the repellant himself, in open water surrounded by sharks. The film was directed by Jerry Hopper, who would go on to a very long and successful career directing episodic television.
SHARK (1969)
Directed by Samuel Fuller, Shark was an early starring vehicle for Burt Reynolds. The story concerns a gunrunner whose property is lost overboard. When he is hired by a local woman to help her locate a sunken ship in shark-infested waters he agrees, hoping to recover his lost merchandise. During production, a stuntman was killed by a shark that bit through a protective net and attacked him. The stuntman’s death was heralded in publicity material for the film, with a still image of the attack highlighted on the film’s poster. Though I have movie posters from pretty much every shark movie made, I will not own this poster due to the blatant exploitation of such a tragic event. After the success of JAWS, the film was re-issued, again playing up the fact that you could actually see someone be attacked by a shark.
BLUE WATER, WHITE DEATH (1971)
Probably the one most readers have seen, Blue Water, White Death is one of the greatest documentaries every made. Featuring names well known to JAWS fans, including Rodney Fox and Ron and Valerie Taylor, the film takes an amazing and up-close look at the Great White Shark. Ron and Valerie Taylor would go on to film the live shark footage used in JAWS.
Please let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favorites!
Words by Michael A Smith. Michael is co-author of Jaws 2: The Making Of The Hollywood Sequel. You can order the book by contacting Michael at OsFanMike@aol.com.
If you would like to write for The Daily Jaws, please visit our ‘work with us’ page
For all the latest Jaws, shark and shark movie news, follow The Daily Jaws on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.