Martha’s Vineyard celebrates 50th anniversary of ‘Jaws,’ which was filmed on the island

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — It’s the movie that kept beachgoers out of the water and launched millions of nightmares.

And of course, featured some iconic lines, like “You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

Jaws was a cultural phenomenon that transformed the film industry and put Martha’s Vineyard on the map.

This year, the movie turns 50.

Even though Martha’s Vineyard is picturesque, it wasn’t the first choice to film the movie version of Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel.

“The Island got picked by accident,” said Bow Van Riper, the research librarian at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.” Joe Alves, the production designer, was headed to Nantucket, and the boat was cancelled mid-trip.”

Alves was able to hop a boat to the Vineyard, and the rest is now history.

Alves is quoted as saying, “I just thought, this is the place. There was such an order. It was the perfect place for a shark to come in and destroy.”

Hosting the filming “was an enormously significant event, we were part of something really good, and really special,” said Van Riper.

In 1974, he made his film debut as an extra in the film.

“We were sitting on the sand and watching them do their thing, and an assistant director stood up with a megaphone and said, ‘Alright, we need 100 brave people to go get in the water and pretend to be the crowd,” added Van Riper.

11 years old at the time, he jumped at the opportunity to take part.

He said the extras were given just one instruction: “Panic like somebody just yelled shark and swim for the shore!”

Islanders who didn’t land a part in the movie also have vivid memories of the production, which took over the island.

“You didn’t go near the filming because it was such a chaotic place,” explained resident Weezie Gilpin.

Shooting was scheduled to last 55 days. It ended up going for 159.

Gilpin worked at a local bakery at the time.

“My claim to fame is I frosted Robert Shaw’s birthday cake in August,” said Gilpin with a chuckle.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum created an exhibit entitled “Jaws at 50 – A Deeper Dive.”

“Our goal from the beginning was to make sure that it was told in a way that showed people that without the island and the people of the island, Jaws wouldn’t certainly be what it is,” said museum curator Anna Barber.

Interactive displays allow a visitor to see where on the Island specific shots were filmed and take in iconic costumes like the mayor’s preppy blazer.

There’s a section of the exhibit that contains schematic drawings and information about how the famous mechanical shark, known as Bruce, was made.

Barber captured the international impact of the film with a collection of movie posters from around the world.

Another highlight was one of the yellow barrels used throughout the film to create tension and suspense.

Barber explained, “The yellow barrels became sort of these substitutes for the shark because so much was wrong with the shark. It only gets to be on screen for about four minutes in the entire movie because it kept going through so many problems.”

And then there is the prop that made Americans gasp when it floated out of a wrecked boat. It’s known as Ben Gardner’s head.

“We have one of the two original heads that were used in the filming. The other belongs to Steven Spielberg,” added Barber.

Throughout the exhibit, there are stories of locals and the roles they played in bringing the book to the silver screen.

Van Riper says the product of all that work changed Hollywood and the Island forever.

“From the point of view of Hollywood, Jaws was the first summer blockbuster. Star Wars and Iron Man, and everything that came after, followed in its marketing footsteps. From the point of view of the Vineyard, it put the Vineyard on the national map.”

Jaws at 50 – A Deeper Dive will be up at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum until September 7th.

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