That’s some bad hat Harry - Jaws Remembered


It is a little funny to me when you hear something over and over and in the back of your mind you know it is something you have seen or heard before.  Have you ever watched an old movie and said, “I don’t remember this actor or actress being in this movie” or something to that effect?  You may have seen the movie a hundred times, but because that person wasn’t as famous yet you don’t make the connection.  Or a small line from the movie is said which your subconscious logs away but later you cannot remember where you heard it or what movie or television show if came from. 

Well that happened to me this afternoon when I watched the movie “Jaws” for the first time in many years.  When that movie came out in 1975 there were no computer generated graphics like movies today so when a movie kept you on the edge of your seat and scared the crap out of you it was a great movie.

The setting for this particular scene from "Jaws" is on the beach, right before the fatal great white shark attack on Alex Kinter the young boy on the yellow raft.  An elderly man named Harry walks out of the water wearing a swim cap and walks over to Chief Brody (Roy Scheider).  Harry sits down in front of Brody and says "We know all about you Chief, you don't like the water at all".  Brody, obviously miffed, replies "That's some bad hat Harry".

Jaws scene where Brodie says: “That’s some bad hat Harry.”  

I have been watching the "House, M.D." television series on Netflix and the USA channel where I keep hearing the very familiar ‘tag’ line at the very end of each episode.  The company that produces "House, M.D." is Bad Hat Harry Productions.  If you are a House fan you will recognize that this is their production company’s scene at the end of each house episode.  Click here to see the company spot.   Apparently the executive producer loves Jaws.

If you look back at other programs you will remember other familiar tag lines that were used at the end of the episode.  These were the closing words after each episode of the TV shows Family Ties, Cheers, & Spin city. You would hear, "Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog." Then a dog would bark.  This is the production company's 'signature' for their shows. 
Some of the fun ones I remember are the Stephen J. Cannell closing shot.

Cannell’s great shows included, The Rockford Files, A-Team, 21 Jump Street, The Commish just to name a few.  All had great characters with full rich personalities that leap off the screen.

Another of my all time favorite writers is Donald P. Bellisario who has given us great shows over the years, many with military themes or characters.  Magnum P.I., Airwolf, JAG, Black Sheep Squadron, Quantam Leap, and NCIS have given us excellent story lines and many memorable characters over the years.

But for today it was a nice heart pounding to the sounds of the Jaws theme music and the ability to keep us on the edge of our seats for over half the movie without ever ‘seeing’ the shark.  The sounds and the mental picture painted for us back then still holds true today after 34 years. 

I nearly spilled my popcorn and drink when the head falls through the hole when the Richard Dreyfuss character Matt Hooper was underwater investigating another shark attack.   I know it is going to happen but it holds that imagination of terror for me.

“You'll never go in the water again!”

I’m sure there are places on the east coast that still feel that way.


Ice

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