20 Things You Somehow Missed In Jaws
14. The Ben Gardner Corpse Scene Was Filmed In A Pool
When Jaws was put to test audiences, Steven Spielberg wanted one more ‘scream’. He specifically picked on the scene where local fisherman Ben Gardner is discovered in his sunken boat, and decided to re-shoot it because viewers weren’t frightened enough.
The studios weren’t willing to fund for another take so Spielberg paid for it himself, assembling a crew and using editor Verna Fields’ swimming pool. The pool was flooded with a gallon of milk to achieve the deep-sea aesthetic and a stunt double went through the motions of Richard Dreyfuss’ character.
Just by changing the composition and the timing, the jump scare got the scream which Spielberg wanted.