Next summer will be a big one for fans of the 1975 blockbuster film “Jaws.” It will mark the 50th anniversary of the movie many believe started the summer blockbuster phenomenon and scared beachgoers just about everywhere. However, this summer marks the 50th anniversary of the novel of the same title, written by Peter Benchley, about a great white shark that terrorizes a beach community on Long Island.
That was a hit in the literary circles. The first publication was in February 1974, and it remained on the bestseller list for nearly a year. Film producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown read the novel and purchased the film rights.
The rest is movie history: Steven Spielberg directed, and Roy Scheider (Martin Brody), Robert Shaw (Quint) and Richard Dreyfuss (Matt Hooper) starred in roles that defined their acting careers. The novel and the film had many similarities, but as with many screenplays that originated from a novel, it led to a finished product on screen that is very different from the written word. In this case — many will argue — the film is a much better version of the story.
For those who haven’t read “Jaws,” the differences are as big as the bite radius of the 25-foot shark. Here are the most notable: Mafia sub-plot >> The biggest plot hole from the film is Mayor Vaughan (Vaughn in the film) and his insistence on keeping the beaches open, despite a man-eating shark roaming off the shores of Long Island (later changed to the fictional Amity Island i.
