''Shark!'' (also known as ''Caine'' and ''Man-Eater'') is a 1969 Mexican-American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Burt Reynolds and

Silvia Pinal Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (born 12 September 1931) is a Mexican actress. She began her career in the theater, venturing into cinema in 1949. Her film work and popularity in her native country led her to work in Europe (Spain and Italy). Pinal achiev ...

Plot

Caine, a gunrunner, becomes stranded in a small port on the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

. 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 *

as Anna *

Francisco Reiguera Francisco Reiguera (November 9, 1899 – March 15, 1969) was a Spanish actor who is best known for playing the title role in Orson Welles’ unfinished film version of ''Don Quixote''. He also appeared in the films ''Simon of the Desert'' (1965 ...

as Yusef (credited as Francisco Reyguera) *

Enrique Lucero Enrique Lucero (October 9, 1920 – May 9, 1989) was a Mexican-American film actor. He was known for such films as '' Macario'' (1960) and ''Two Mules for Sister Sara'' (1970). He also played the role of the "Indian Chief" in '' Buck and the Prea ...

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 Victor Canning (16 June 1911 – 21 February 1986) was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent, writing no memoirs and giving relatively few newspaper interviews. ...

. This was serialized in 1954 and published in 1955. The original screenplay was written by

Ken Hughes Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

. In July 1966 it was announced Gaumont Pictures would make a film from the novel, directed by

Byron Haskin Byron Conrad Haskin (April 22, 1899 – April 16, 1984) was an American film and television director, special effects creator and cinematographer. He is best known for directing '' The War of the Worlds'' (1953), one of many films where he ...

, 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. 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. 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." 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." 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 The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...

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. Strock Herbert L. Strock (January 13, 1918 – November 30, 2005) was an American television producer and director, and a B-movie director of titles such as '' I Was a Teenage Frankenstein'' (1957), '' How to Make a Monster'' (1958), and ''The Crawlin ...

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 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.

Re-releases

The film was re-released by Hallmark in 1975 as ''Man-Eater'' to cash in on the success of ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

''. Advertising focused on the death of the stuntman in the film. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called this version "threadbare".'Linda Lovelace for President' Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times26 Sep 1975: f19.

References

Notes

External links

* *
Richard Brody on the 1969 film at The New Yorker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shark! (Film) 1969 films 1969 adventure films American action films American independent films English-language Mexican films Mexican action films Troma Entertainment films Films directed by Samuel Fuller Films based on British novels Films set in Sudan Films shot in Mexico Films about shark attacks Treasure hunt films Underwater action films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s Mexican films