Shark! (film)
Encyclopedia
Shark! is a 1969 American
action film
directed by Samuel Fuller
and starring Burt Reynolds
. The film was based on the Victor Canning
novel His Bones are Coral with the original screeplay written by Ken Hughes
. When Fuller joined the project, he rewrote the script and retitled it Caine.
who becomes stranded in a small port in the Red Sea
. He meets a seductive woman who propositions him to dive into shark-infested waters off the coast for scientific research. However, when Caine realizes the woman and her partner are actually treasure hunters, the action starts to heat up both above and below the water.
When Samuel Fuller finally saw the version that was released to theaters, he said it was so badly butchered he demanded the producers take his name off it. The producers refused.
The film was re-released as Man-Eater by Legacy Entertainment Inc. in 2003.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by Samuel Fuller
Samuel Fuller
Samuel Michael Fuller was an American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes.-Personal life:...
and starring Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
. The film was based on the Victor Canning
Victor Canning
Victor Canning was a prolific writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, but whose reputation has faded since his death in 1986...
novel His Bones are Coral with the original screeplay written by Ken Hughes
Ken Hughes
Ken Hughes was a British film director, writer, and producer.-Personal history:Wife Charlotte Hughes living in LA...
. When Fuller joined the project, he rewrote the script and retitled it Caine.
Plot
Reynolds plays Caine, a gunrunnerGunrunning
Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition.The 1997 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms provides a more refined and precise definition, which has become internationally accepted...
who becomes stranded in a small port in the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. He meets a seductive woman who propositions him to dive into shark-infested waters off the coast for scientific research. However, when Caine realizes the woman and her partner are actually treasure hunters, the action starts to heat up both above and below the water.
Production
During production, one of the film's stuntmen was attacked and killed on camera by what was supposed to be a sedated shark. When the production company used the death to promote the film, (even retitling the film to Shark!) Fuller, who had been arguing with the producers on several major issues relating to the film, quit the production.When Samuel Fuller finally saw the version that was released to theaters, he said it was so badly butchered he demanded the producers take his name off it. The producers refused.
The film was re-released as Man-Eater by Legacy Entertainment Inc. in 2003.