Today is the 50th anniversary of 'Jaws' and apparently Steven Spielberg attended one of the first screenings in Dallas back in 1975.

June 20, 1975 'Jaws' Released in Theaters

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Today Martha's Vineyard is madhouse with people celebrating the 50th anniversary of what many call the first summer blockbuster. Martha's Vineyard was transformed in 'Amity Island' for the movie. 'Jaws' made $260.7 million at the box office in 1975, you adjust that for inflation and the movie made 1.5 billion in today's dollars. It was a cultural phenomenon at the time. I was curious if Jaws had any Texas connections and I was shocked that yes, it does.

Steven Spielberg Attends 'Jaws' Sneak Peak in Dallas

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Just a few years ago, a book came out called 'Spielberg: The First Ten Years' which went into the director's first ten years in the movie business. For this book, we learned the first time Spielberg saw Jaws with an audience was at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. Apparently this was sneak preview of the movie on March 26, 1975.

'Jaws' Scene That Caused a Dallas Man to Throw Up

One of the many famous scenes in the movie is when Alex Kitner gets eaten by the shark at the packed beach. So many amazing technical camera cuts and zoom ins during this scene, but also a LOT of blood. Spielberg shared his Dallas experience with Vanity Fair back in 2023.

Steven Spielberg on Watching 'Jaws' for the First Time in Dallas

At one point, I remember I was standing at the door, and after the death of the Kintner boy, a man got up and started walking out—I thought, Oh my God. Our first walkout. Then he began running and I went, Oh, no, he’s not walking out—he’s running out. I could tell he was headed for the bathrooms, but he didn’t make it and vomited all over the floor. And I just went, Oh my God, what have I done? What kind of a movie have I made? A man has just barfed because of my film. But the great news was, about five minutes later, he went right back to his seat.

He said the crowd was going crazy the entire movie and he knew 'Jaws' was going to be huge after this moment.

The Boomer Exhibit in Wichita Falls

Here are the nineteen people chosen to represent every year of The Boomer generation for a new exhibit that just came to the Wichita Falls Museum of Art. Read more about the exhibit here.

Gallery Credit: Stryker

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