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Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Jaws With These Vintage Shark Photos

2 minute read

When LIFE’s editors titled a 1960 feature on sharks “Look Out For Sharks,” they weren’t thinking about fictional fish—but when Jaws hit theaters 15 years later on June 20, 1975, the movie proved that a shark didn’t have to be real to be scary. The film was more than the first big hit for a young director named Steven Spielberg; it was the first summer blockbuster, period. It also made moviegoers that summer a tad nervous to swim at the beach.

LIFE’s attitude toward sharks was similarly cautious. “A shadow in a wave, a fin above the surface, a wide mouth nosing up from below”—the “gruesome menace” could be anywhere water is warm, though some species proved a greater danger to swimmers and sailors:

During 1959 sharks made 11 authenticated attacks on human beings in U.S. waters. Three of them were fatal. The number is not enormous, but the victims died deaths of horror–dismembered bite by bite as their executioners struck and turned, struck and turned again.

The article went on to describe how different kinds of sharks might attempt to kill unsuspecting bathers, featuring the stories of victims who survived attacks, and one who didn’t. One survivor, 16-year-old Suzanne Theriot, had her leg amputated after a bite. Another, Eddie Dawkins, required 100 stitches from his chest to his ears after a shark had most of his head inside its mouth.

The magazine refrained from ending on a morbid note, instead offering tips for how to avoid an attack: Don’t swim alone. Don’t swim at night. Don’t swim with a bleeding wound. And if all else fails, as Martin Brody would have said, perhaps try a bigger boat.

Page layout from the July 11, 1960 issue of LIFE Magazine.
Page layout from the July 11, 1960 issue of LIFE Magazine.LIFE Magazine

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Lemon shark, a captive in Florida's Marineland, is one of a small, pig-eyed species, seven to 11 feet long, which often haunts docks and beaches at night.
Caption from LIFE. Lemon shark, a captive in Florida's Marineland, is one of a small, pig-eyed species, seven to 11 feet long, which often haunts docks and beaches at night.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Tiger shark, difficult to keep in captivity, devours lemon shark at Florida's Marineland. Untempted by other foods, this tiger would have starved without lemon shark. But when free, tigers are undiscriminating scavengers, scouring the sea bottoms near shore and swallowing anything from turtle shells to tin cans.
Caption from LIFE. Tiger shark, difficult to keep in captivity, devours lemon shark at Florida's Marineland. Untempted by other foods, this tiger would have starved without lemon shark. But when free, tigers are undiscriminating scavengers, scouring the sea bottoms near shore and swallowing anything from turtle shells to tin cans.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Blue shark, 1960.
Blue shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
White-tip shark prowling open sea was photographed by Peter Stackpole from cage sunk in Gulf of Mexico. White-tips stay at sea, do not molest beaches.
Caption from LIFE. White-tip shark prowling open sea was photographed by Peter Stackpole from cage sunk in Gulf of Mexico. White-tips stay at sea, do not molest beaches.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Unidentified shark, 1960.
Unidentified shark, 1960.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Write to Eliza Berman at eliza.berman@time.com