Quint (Jaws character)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quint is a fictional character in the novel Jaws by Peter Benchley and the film of the same title (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg.
Quint is an old fisherman specializing in sharks. In the novel, he appears as a bald, weathered, burly man who never wears sunglasses.
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[edit] Film
On screen Quint is portrayed by actor Robert Shaw whose character is hired to kill the monster great white shark that terrorizes the fictional New England town of Amity Island. He boards his fishing boat, the Orca, with Matt Hooper, an ichthyologist, and Martin Brody, the local chief of police.
[edit] Death
During their time at sea they are attacked, pursued and eventually swamped by the shark, which then proceeds to jump out of the water and land on the Orca, slowly sinking it. Quint holds on but an oxygen tank crushes his fingers, causing him to let go. He slides straight into the shark's mouth and is bitten. Desperate, he grabs the machete from the side of the boat and stabs the shark. This scene is regarded as one of the most intense character demises in a suspense film.
[edit] The Indianapolis
Quint also relates the story of his experience during World War II aboard the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, a real-life vessel which was sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering the final components of the "Little Boy" bomb to Tinian. The survivors floated for days in the wreckage and watched hundreds of their shipmates die from wounds, burns, and dehydration. It is estimated that at least a hundred sailors were killed by sharks in the three days they were in the water.
The source for the character of Quint is popularly attributed to real-life Long Island shark fisherman Frank Mundus, though the book's author denies this. Craig Kingsbury, an islander on Martha's Vineyard, helped Spielberg and Shaw flesh out the character for the film.
[edit] In popular culture
Since Jaws' release, the character of Quint has showed up on different formats.
- In The Simpsons episode "Radio Bart", the man with the fishhook and chocolate bar is the character Quint.
- Quint in Jaws (1975) was ranked #28 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
- In the film The Master of Disguise, the main character disguises himself as Quint in a scene in an attempt to evade pursuers.
Quint's boathouse set was built in Martha's Vineyard on an abandoned lot. The local government* made the production crew sign an agreement to demolish it after filming and replace everything exactly as it had been - right down to the litter. To this day the site remains vacant except for one lone anchor.
*Many sources say "city council", but since there are no cities on Martha's Vineyard, there are thus no city councils.
