Frank Mundus - Inspiration For Quint in Jaws

Inspiration For Quint in Jaws

Mundus is often said to be the inspiration for charter captain Quint in the book and film Jaws. The novel's author Peter Benchley denied that he was the inspiration and Mundus was not used as a source in the movie. However, Carl Gottlieb did indeed say that in the film Jaws he portrayed him. However, many Montauk residents say that Mundus was definitely the inspiration. John Ebel, a mate on the Cricket said that Benchley had privately acknowledged that Mundus was the inspiration but had publicly denied the association for legal reasons. They note the following:

• Mundus and Benchley had gone on shark hunting expeditions out of Montauk prior to the 1974 novel and were filmed together aboard the Cricket II in a 1974 episode of American Sportsman
• In the book the fictional Jaws community of Amity is described as being between Bridgehampton, New York and East Hampton, New York, the latter the location of Montauk.
• Quint's boat was said to be berthed at a place called "Promised Land." Mundus' boat at one time was docked at the fish factory called Promised Land in Napeague, New York immediately west of Montauk.
• Joe Gaviola, a Montauk businessman, was quoted as saying, "He is Quint. If you read the book, he was everything Frank was. Benchley spent weeks fishing with him. Give me a break. He is Quint."
• Both Frank and Quint possessed a hatred for the two-way radio.

In comparisons to his character in Jaws his web sites quotes him:

What did you think about the movie Jaws?

It was the funniest and the stupidest movie I've ever seen because too many stupid things happened in it. For instance, no shark can pull a boat backwards at a fast speed with a light line and stern cleats that are only held in there by two bolts. And I've never boiled shark jaws. If you do, you'll only end up with a bunch of teeth at the bottom of your bucket because the jaw cartilage melts.

Is it true that the shark hunter "Quint" in Jaws is based on you? In what ways does he resemble you?

Yes, he was. He knew how to handle the people the same way I did. He also used similar shark fishing techniques based on my methods. The only difference was that I used hand held harpoons after field-testing harpoon guns and discovering that they didn't work: the dart would pull out after hitting the fish.