Robert Shaw, the English character actor best remembered as the salty sea Captain Quint in Jaws and for his stints in many other fondly loved motion pictures, died 35 years ago today of a heart attack.

Shaw was an amazingly robust talent, and he had a chameleonic tendency in his roles, blending effortlessly into them, and they were as diverse as being an assassin in the 2nd James Bond film To Russia With Love, the young Henry the Eighth in A Man For All Seasons (in which Shaw holds his own against a caliber supporting cast), the no-apologist mobster henchman Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting and “Mr. Blue” in the original version of the subway heist flick Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, who was steely, frozen rope, and cunning. A common thread through all these characters and more that Shaw portrayed on screen or stage, is that they all had a certain elegance to them in the middle of their controlled menacing hazes.

Jaws
Blu-ray
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: August 14, 2012

One night during a party on the beaches of Amity Island, a New England community primarily known as a summertime destination, a young woman (Susan Backlinie) goes for a nude, moonlit swim in the ocean and is attacked and killed by an unseen force beneath the surface. The next morning her remains wash up on shore and are discovered by Amity police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider). Determining the woman’s death to be a shark attack the chief attempts to close the beaches in order to prevent further casualties, but is stonewalled by the town’s mayor Vaughan (Murray Hamilton), cautious to protect Amity’s reputation with the Fourth of July coming up. Some time later a little boy is eaten by the shark while playing in the water. His distraught mother offers up a sizable bounty to anyone who can kill the shark, bringing carloads of fishermen and hunters to Amity ready to claim the reward.

Marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) also arrives on Amity to assist Brody and based on the bite marks left on the remains of the first victim he believes the shark is a great white, unheard of in the waters off Amity. The beaches remain open despite failed attempts to kill the shark and when the tourists descend on Amity for Independence Day the attacks intensify. With the lives of Amity’s citizens, including Brody’s own family, and the town’s future hanging in the balance, Brody and Hopper team up with local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) and head out to sea to confront and destroy the great white. It’s only after they’ve encountered the beast that they realize their enemy has been grossly underestimated. One thing’s for sure: they’re gonna need a bigger boat.