THE VAUGHN VERSION:

To be clear as to the point of this article …

As a character, Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) was an indelible creation, a selfish prick of a politician but a gregarious guy more interested in the local economy than human lives.

He was willing to take the risk, despite the warnings. He knew of the recent shark attacks on Chrissie Watkins and Alex Kitner, and yet he allowed his horrid judgement to keep Amity’s beach open for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Under pressure from Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), he allowed several of Amity’s locals to hunt and kill the alleged creature.

And they thought they had him, until Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) spoiled the party.

But Vaughn downplayed the issue, once proven this shark was not the beast responsible.

He lied, in so many words.

So the film continued, the beach remained open for the 4th — save for a one-day closure prior — and celebrants were, predictably, attacked …

“My boy was on that beach too!” — Mayor Vaughn

Vaughn played with lives and took an unnecessary risk. Brody forced him to sign an agreement to pay Quint (Robert Shaw) $10,000 to catch and kill Quint’s so-called “big fish.” Quint’s mates: Brody and Hooper.

We didn’t see Vaughn again … until the film’s first sequel.

Quint ultimately came close in his mission, but timing being everything he became Bruce the Shark’s lunch.

It was up to Chief Brody, who was horrified of the water, to become the hero of the day …

Hooper returned from underwater, where he had been doing his part to kill the creature, and he and Brody rested on some debris as they kicked their way to shore.

Three inferior sequels followed, which are meaningless in this context, though Vaughn returned in “Jaws 2” up to his old shenanigans. He attained a second life of sorts many years after actor Hamilton’s passing, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pronounced him his “hero.”

Fitting, based on his early Covid-19 response. But I digress.

To summarize Larry Vaughn: a) He downplayed and even ignored the warnings of an imminent threat to human life, b) His earliest response was half-hearted at best, c) Once proof was offered, he still downplayed the calamity, which led to more lives lost, and d) Following his greatest public disaster, he took the action he should have taken to begin with.

That Benchley/Spielberg tandem was quite prophetic.