Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1969


Shark!

Buy Shark! now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'Shark!' (also known as 'Caine' and 'Man-Eater') is a 1969 Mexican-American action film directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Burt Reynolds and Silvia Pinal.

Plot



Caine, a gunrunner, becomes stranded in a small port on the Red Sea. While there, he meets an attractive woman, Anna, who propositions him to dive into shark-infested waters off the coast. Though she alleges the purpose of the dive is scientific research, Caine eventually realizes that the woman and her partner are actually treasure hunters, and sees an opportunity to utilize the riches from the wreck they hope to raid to compensate for the earlier loss of his cargo.

Cast



* Burt Reynolds as Caine

* Arthur Kennedy as Doc

* Barry Sullivan as Professor Dan Mallare

* Silvia Pinal as Anna

* Francisco Reiguera as Yusef (credited as Francisco Reyguera)

* Enrique Lucero as Inspector Barok

* Manuel Alvarado as Latalla

* Carlos Barry as Runt

Production



Development

The film was based on the novel 'His Bones are Coral' by Victor Canning. This was serialized in 1954 and published in 1955.SHARK

Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 49, Iss. 576, (Jan 1, 1982): 143.
The original screenplay was written by Ken Hughes.

In July 1966 it was announced Gaumont Pictures would make a film from the novel, directed by Byron Haskin, starring George Montgomery and produced by Mark Cooper. It was to be called 'Twist of the Knife' and to be filmed in Mexico in July.Train on a 'Foreign' Track Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 1 July 1966: d11. Filming did not proceed.

Sam Fuller

In April 1967 it was announced 'Twist of the Knife' would be produced by Skip Steloff for Calderon-Stell and directed by Sam Fuller, his first film since 'The Naked Kiss'. The cast would include Burt Reynolds, Arthur Kennedy and Barry Sullivan.Fonda Joins 'Madigan' Cast

Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 24 Apr 1967: d23.


The film was to be the first in a series of co productions between Skip Steloff, Marc Cooper's Heritage Productions, and Jose Luis Calderon's Cinemtographia Calderon.Dombrowski p 177

When Sam Fuller joined the project, he rewrote the script and retitled it 'Caine'. He shared writing credit with John Kingsbridge.

Fuller later said "I liked the idea of making a story where, for once, the hero is really the heavy, the heavy is the girl, there's another heavy, and you find out in the end they're all heavies."Dombrowski p 178

He elaborated, saying he liked "doing a story about four amoral characters... to show not only a double cross on a double cross but when we think we know who the heavy is, we find out the real heavy behind it all is the girl... I have the hero not only allow her to die, but he shrugs it off. I thought that was exciting... I had such fun because I went beyond the average switch of revealing the villain. I also didn't have the guy just let the girl go to jail; he lets her be eaten by sharks."Fuller p 37-38

Even before filming began, the producers announced they had signed Fuller to a four-picture deal, including a sequel to 'Caine'.Dombrowski p 177

Shooting

Filming took place for nine weeks in 1967, in Manzanillo, Mexico, which stood in for the Sudan.

During production, one of the film's stuntmen, Jose Marco, was attacked and killed on camera by a great white shark that broke through protective netting. The attack was captured on film and prompted a photo spread in 'Life' magazine. The title was changed to 'Shark!' to cash in on the controversy.Dombrowski p 177

Post-production

Fuller supervised editing in Mexico City for four weeks. His cut was later re-edited by Herbert L. StrockHumphreys, Justin 'Herbert L. Strock Interview' in 'Interviews Too Shocking To Print!: Conversations with Horror Filmmakers and Their Accomplices Paperback' BearManor Media May 26, 2016 without Fuller's approval. When he finally saw the version that was released to theaters, he said he thought it was "terrible. I told them I wanted to restore my original cut. They said they didn't know if they could get it from Mexico."Fuller p 38

Fuller demanded the producers take his name off it. The producers refused.Dombrowski p 177

Release



Critical reception

The 'New York Times' thought the film "still suggests the imagination of" Fuller.'Shark!,' Story of Hunt for Bullion

New York Times 16 June 1970: 54.


Re-releases

The film was re-released by Hallmark in 1975 as 'Man-Eater' to cash in on the success of 'Jaws'. Advertising focused on the death of the stuntman in the film.SPLITTING JAWS WITH THE HAPPY BOOKER: A TALK WITH A CIRCUIT BUYER

Maslin, Janet. Film Comment; New York Vol. 11, Iss. 4, (Jul/Aug 1975): 57-62,64.


The 'Los Angeles Times' called this version "threadbare".'Linda Lovelace for President'

Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times26 Sep 1975: f19.


See also



* List of American films of 1969

References



Notes



*


Buy Shark! now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 1969



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1110175004.