One of the first signs that 'Jaws' would become a box office juggernaut happened in Dallas when Spielberg watched audiences scream, toss their popcorn and even vomit, according to a new book.
. Spielberg said the place"was very, very loud and people went crazy."
One audience member managed to scare Spielberg. In the movie, the shark's second victim is a boy who goes out for a last-minute swim during a day at the Amity Island beach. Spielberg knew he had to hide his shark until deep into the film to create the kind of terror that Benchley constructed in his novel, but the scene shows the poor kid being eaten alive and dragged into the ocean by the toothy terror.
Later in the movie, another scene, in which Chief Brody, played by Roy Scheider, sees the shark for the first time while chucking chum in the water, provided the biggest scream of the whole preview. Brody is chuffed at having to shovel fish guts in the water at the orders of the gruff shark hunter Quint, played by Robert Shaw.
Brody remarks,"Why don't you come down here and chum some of this shit" as a joke, but Spielberg used it to keep the audience off guard so he could turn the moment into a real screamer when the shark pops out of the water behind him and lunges for the boat. The scene is followed by the film's most memorable line: a shocked Brody slowly backs into the ship's bridge, where Quint is rethreading his fishing reel and remarks,"You're gonna need a bigger boat.
"Back in those days, the word 'shit' was an easy laugh, and it instantly got a nervous laughter, and when the shark burst out of the water, it turned into a scream!" Spielberg said."Popcorn went flying and it was amazing. It was my proudest moment at the whole preview."
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