Take a Bite Out Of This: Behind the Scenes Facts About Jaws

The Opening Scene Was No Walk In The Park

Photo Credit: Universal Studios

The opening scene with the young woman being attacked was harder to film than you may think. And no, actress Susan Backlinie wasn’t just flailing around in the water. A harness with cables was attached Backlinie’s legs, and she was yanked back and forth by crew members running back and forth on the shoreline.

The directions she was being pulled were at random to achieve a genuine reaction of fear from Backlinie. The entire scene took three whole days to film, but it paid off, with the opening scene from Jaws setting the bar for the horror genre.

See what Spielberg’s first impression of the movie’s musical score was.