'Make the magic happen.' Vineyard Museum opens 'Jaws' exhibition with local insights
VINEYARD HAVEN — In 1974, then 11-year-old A. Bowdoin 'Bow' Van Riper splashed in the waters off Joseph Sylvia State Beach in Oak Bluffs with dozens of others to serve as extras filling out an iconic moment in the movie "Jaws."
The scene featured two children using a cardboard fin to spark panic about a shark in the water. Van Riper and a friend were there to watch the filming of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster, when an assistant used a bullhorn to put the call out for volunteers.
Van Riper is now a Martha's Vineyard Museum research librarian and film scholar. As part of the museum's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the movie's premiere, he will give a talk about the elements, from his perspective, that make the movie a classic.
'Who'd have thought that 50 years later I'd still be talking about 'Jaws'?' Van Riper laughed during a phone interview on Sunday, May 18.
"Jaws" was originally released on June 20, 1975, and was filmed on Martha's Vineyard from May through October 1974.
The film depicts a fictional New England beach town Amity Island terrorized by a great white shark.
Van Riper's sold-out talk will be held on June 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Through selected clips and stills, he will explore different aspects of the film, such as how Amity Island becomes a living, breathing character.
'Part of the reason why 'Jaws' has remained a classic when a lot of other 'nature runs amok' movies from the 70s have faded way into $1.99 DVD obscurity is that it does have that richness as a story. It's not just monster-eats-people and then eventually gets destroyed,' said Van Riper. 'It's multiple intertwined stories that gives it significantly more depth.'
He pointed to Lynn Murphy as an example of a Vineyarder who helped bring the movie to life. Murphy was a Chilmark fisherman and master mechanic credited with inspiring the grizzled shark hunter Quint played by Robert Shaw.
Murphy was hired by the production early on to keep much of the maritime hardware running. He helped to make two sea sled sharks functional and dragged them behind his boat during filming, according to the museum.
His fingerprints on the film are apparent 'in 100 ways that show up on camera without him ever himself being present,' said Van Riper, including a scene where the shark pulls out the supports of a dock.
'He helped to make the magic happen,' said Van Riper. 'Although the guys from Hollywood knew how to make movies, how to frame shots, how to light things, how to design an electromechanical floating shark — they didn't necessarily know a lot about the ins and outs and nuts and bolts of operating boats and floating equipment on the water.'
The museum, housed in the former 1895-built Marine Hospital, will also feature its biggest exhibition yet called Jaws at 50: A Deeper Dive. Curator of Exhibitions Anna Barber said staff have collected rare photographs, oral histories, original artwork, and authentic movie props to dive into the filming of "Jaws."
For instance, visitors will see a series of illustrations done by the production designer and art director Joe Alves, who rendered the sketches to help pitch the film to Universal Studios before the Peter Benchley novel was even published.
'He was in charge of creating these action scenes around the shark because a lot of the people were (asking), 'How are you going to film a movie about a shark? You can't train a shark, you have to build a shark,'' said Barber.
The exhibit also includes one of two original prop heads of the movie character Ben Gardner, an Amity Island fisherman who drowns after the shark attacks his boat. Oceanographer Matthew Hooper, another character in the movie, finds Gardner's boat before discovering a shark tooth wedged into the hull.
While trying to remove it, Gardner's one-eyed head unexpectedly pops out.
Spielberg, who has the other prop head, did not initially like the way the scene was shot, said Barber. They redid the sequence in "Jaws" editor Verna Fields' backyard pool, putting plastic black tarp over the pool.
'They poured a gallon of milk in the water to make it look a little murky … this is such an iconic movie moment that it's pretty cool to have this in here,' said Barber.
The prop head at the museum is owned by Greg Nicotero, a special make-up effects creator and "Jaws" super fan.
Also on display is a life-size replica of Bruce the Shark's head, the mechanical shark in "Jaws." Designed and built by Arcana Workshop, the re-creation has more than 80 handcrafted teeth.
While the shark in "Jaws" is never named, Spielberg named the animatronic great white shark after his lawyer Bruce Ramer.
The 1:1 replica — measuring 72 x 45 x 45 inches — is based on extensive research, behind-the-scenes photos, documentation, and another replica currently on display at the Atlantic White Shark Center in Chatham.
The model traveled by truck and ferry to Martha's Vineyard before it was installed inside the museum's Linnemann Pavilion where fans can get an up-close look.
Other highlights include a to-scale replica of the 'Amity Island Welcomes You' sign and a to-scale model of the interior of Quint's fishing boat Orca built by Cort Corino, which will be on display during Amity Homecoming Weekend, a five-day celebration of the movie from June 19 to 23.
'He's going to set it up in the barn so that people can come and sit down inside an exact replica of the Orca down to the books and the vintage bottles that are inside. It's really amazing,' said Barber. 'These things speak to the level of intensity and enthusiasm that fans have to go above and beyond to create something so life-like.'
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on X @zanerazz.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: 80 teeth, a mayor's blazer, a one-eyed bust: 'Jaws' at Vineyard museum
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