It’s The 50th Anniversary Of 'Jaws,' So We’re Watching Quint’s USS Indianapolis Speech

I don't think I'm breaking any new ground here by saying that Jaws is one of the best movies ever made. And still, 50 years after it hit theaters on this day back in 1975, the film regarded as the first "blockbuster" holds up better than movies a third of its age.

It's hard to find a movie that works as well as Jaws does from every perspective. The performances, the music, and the way Stephen Spielberg shot around a notoriously temperamental robo-shark (named "Bruce" after his lawyer) came together to create a movie that made generations of people scared of the ocean.

That's an accomplishment.

I can't even count how many times I've seen the movie, but I'm always willing to add to my view count. It's one of those movies that, if it's on, I watch. A few years ago, I even caught a showing of it at the single-screen movie theater in my hometown.

There are a few things that always stand out to me — like how, despite knowing it's coming, I jump when Hooper bumps into Ben Gardner's head — but I always thought that Quint's monologue about the USS Indianapolis was one of the best parts of the movie, and possibly the best monologue ever.

Robert Shaw's performance as Quint is incredible, and it doesn't get any better than his iconic <i>USS Indianapolis </i>monologue. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Forget The Robo-Shark, Quint's Monologue Makes Jaws

For starters, I love Robert Shaw. The guy was incredible, and his performance as Quint — from crushing a can of Narragansett (great beer) to getting eaten by the shark to uttering my favorite single line of the film ("I see ya got your rubbers! *maniacal laugh*") — is one for the ages.

Should anyone be surprised? Shaw was known for his drinking, but was a Shakespearean actor. He's great in movies like A Bridge Too Far, Black Sunday (easily a top-three movie about terrorists crashing a blimp into the Super Bowl), and of course, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

But no single moment of his career is as memorable as the USS Indianapolis speech that he gave on the Orca after an evening of drinking with Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider).

I'm sure you've seen it a million times, too, but I don't know how you can't watch that and not get chills.

That monologue has achieved an almost mythic status, and, according to Collider, the first draft of it was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Howard Sackler, and then was expanded by screenwriter John Milius, both of whom were uncredited.

I always loved how it solidified Quint as a Captain Ahab-like character, and Shaw delivers every word of it perfectly.

But what's wildest is that it's one of the scariest parts of the movie, in my opinion, since the USS Indianapolis disaster was, of course, a completely real incident.

Quint meets his untimely demise… whoops, *SPOILER ALERT*, but c'mon, it's been fifty years. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

There's a book called The Book of Quint that serves as a prequel to Peter Benchley's Jaws and gives Quint's backstory, including his time on the USS Indianapolis, and I always wondered how, with as many sequels as Jaws had, they never made a Quint-focused prequel.

Since nothing is sacred anymore, it could still happen, complete with an AI-generated young Robert Shaw.

On second thought, maybe I don't like that idea.