6 Reasons Why Jaws Is Secretly A Western

3. Chief/Sheriff Brody

Jaws Western
Universal

The new Sheriff in town! From the first moments we meet Chief Brody it's clear he's not from these parts, with his New York accent and his faltering attempts at an Amity Island accent (pahking the cah in the yahd). Brody isn't disliked by the townsfolk as such, but they aren't quite ready to embrace him. Mayor Vaughn runs the show and Brody, as evidenced when he doesn't close the beaches after the death of Alex Kintner, is trying to not ruffle the town's feathers (the corrupt Mayor, the righteous Sheriff, another Western trope).

There are similarities between Brody and Gary Cooper's Marshall Will Kane in High Noon, in that the community doesn't quite trust him, they don't rally around him and he can't rely on their support. In fact until Richard Dreyfus's Hooper shows up, he's very much on his own.

It could be argued that Brody doesn't take the threat of the shark seriously until his son Michael has a close encounter. The shot of Brody staring out to sea, with the vast blue framed by the pier, is pure John Ford.

Contributor

Fledgling writer, Spielberg enthusiast, Kubrick sceptic.