Beachy Keen! The Missing Illustrations for “Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘JAWS’”

This post is part of “The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made,” co-sponsored by Tales of the Easily Distracted and ClassicBecky’s Brain Food, both excellent sites and highly recommended:

To find out more about Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘JAWS’, go to LERNER INTERNATIONAL immediately!

“Alfred Hitchcock’s Jaws” is an essay about what would happen if, in the early-1970s, Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, had been asked to direct the film adaptation of Peter Benchley’s best-seller, Jaws, instead of some… damn punk kid.

Then come back and enjoy the pix: they all relate to Jaws, and sharks, and cool blondes, and other Alfred Hitchcock films, . Y’know, the Ivanlandia usual.

Or better yet, open two windows on your computer—have The United Provinces of Ivanlandia on one—

And LERNER INTERNATIONAL on the other.

GO!!!

The megahit Jaws started the death march of the Hollywood New Wave that eventually re-established studio chiefs as lords of their domains—that turned movies into “events” and “blockbusters,” a trend begun with Earthquake with its Sensurround—continued with Jaws (that “May Be Too Intense For Younger Children” ad line was like trying to get rid of ants with sugar—and a page out of the Hitchcock playbook, too)— A trend firmly established by the mega-dominance of Star Wars, two years later. This sort of thing helped kill the independents like AIP, Crown International, National General and New World, as well, now that the “Majors” were making Roger Corman-style B-movies, but with “A”-budgets.