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Rakshasa wrote:

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bobzilla wrote:

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But, when Brody and Hooper were talking to the mayor, Hooper just says, "I had an accident." but, didn't elaborate about seeing Gardner. You'd think he would have told him what he saw instead of just saying he lost the tooth.

Exactly, and not only that Bob, but presumably, Garner's body was still in the boat when they towed it in ("You should have seen HIM"). I mean, unless the head was supposed to be severed (we really only see a bit of the shoulders) and floated out into the sea after Hooper saw it, that body was safely tucked on board in the hull of the ship.

So, that's why I always thought that maybe Ben was NOT actually bitten, but rather drowned after the shark attacked the boat, because nobody says anything to the mayor about Ben being chewed up by the shark. 

Again, I wonder if the filmmakers even had all this figured out, or if it was all just an excuse for a shock!



  

Rakshasa wrote:

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bobzilla wrote:

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I thought I had heard that the "head shot" was filmed later as a shock type moment, so I'm not sure how the dialog would go along with it. Unless we're missing some or changes were made.

Very good point. They DID shoot the "head in the hole" shot in editor Verna Field's swimming pool after the first sneak previews (months after the film had been completed) in order to get "one more big scream".

So, the question is, what does the original shooting script say? Was Gardner even on board when they find his chewed-up boat? I'll have to ask my expert JAWS buddies about that.

Good point, Bob!

Rakshasa wrote:

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Ahh, I just chatted with my buddy who is going to send me the relevant pages from the original shooting script (which I'll share here).

In short, they first shot the scene during the day (photos of this can be seen in THE JAWS LOG) and yes, Ben Gardner was found dead aboard the boat. However, there were troubles with the shoot, the sound was lost, and the footage was unusable. So, the suggestion was made that they shoot the scene at night (scarier) and do it back in Hollywood on Universal's back lot.

In the writer (Carl Gotlieb's) mind, Ben Gardner was attacked by the shark, had a heart attack during it (the expression on his face) and what we see in the movie is what's left of him (it's not just his head).

The eye is not specifically explained, but it could have been picked at by the many tiny feeders in the ocean or it could have popped out when he was bitten. Or, it was just a great gory touch.

Brody does indeed say "You should have seen HIM" to the mayor, referring to Gardner. Whether or not the Mayor saw Gardner's remains or whether or not the remains even made it back to shore is unknown.

But, bottom line, according to the man who wrote the scene, yes, Ben Gardner was bitten/attacked by the shark and had a heart attack during said attack.

I'll chime in with more when I get those original script pages!

P.S.

Also, remember that Ben Gardner had a mate onboard his ship (seen earlier with Ben on the boat). It is presumed that the mate was devoured in the attack.