Seven Ups" and "Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York." The lean, intense actor's theatrical film credits include "Klute," "Paper Lion," "Puzzle of a Downfall Child," "The Outside Man" and "L'Attentat." the latter two filmed as French language motion pictures with Jean LouisTrintignant. The role of Quint, the colorful shark fisherman with a touch of the manic, marks British actor Robert Shaw's third successive film characterization as an American, following his Chicago gangster in "The Sting," and his New York master criminal in "The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three." One of England's reigning theatre stars, he faced film cameras in "A Man For All Seasons," for which he received an Academy Award nomination, "Royal Hunt of the Sun," "Custer of the West" and "Battle of the Bulge." Shaw is also a gifted novelist and playwright. Richard Dreyfuss took a giant step toward stardom in "American Graffiti," and negotiated the remaining distance as the opportunistic hero of "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," The Brookly n-born actor began his career on the stage in New York and has been seen importantly in segments of television series. Among his movie credits is "Dillinger," for which he was recommended to director John Milius for the role of Baby Face Nelson by "American Graffiti" director George Lucas. Pre-filming began in the waters off the South coast of Australia with Ron and Valerie Taylor, who photographed Peter Gimbel's "Blue Water, White Death," the definifive film documentary on sharks, obtaining rare live shark footage to fit the story line. Principal photography began at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., the largest island in New England and, like the fictitious Amity, a mecca for summer tourists. Lorraine Gary, the Ellen Brody of "Jaws," is no stranger to television viewers, having guest starred in more than 40 series episodes, among them "Ironside," "McMillan & Wife," "Kojak" and "The Rookies," before moving over to the theatrical film side. She recently formed her own New Hope production company and is producing, in association with Robert Stigwood Productions, four feature-length movies about women from her own original stories for the NBC Television Network. Murray Hamilton, who was in "The Way We Were," and "The Graduate," essays the role of Amity's mayor, who puts his own interests as a businessman before those of the townspeople.

Both novelist Peter Benchley and his co-screenwriter Carl Gottlieb play roles in the film - Gottlieb, who appeared in "The Long Goodbye," as editor of the Amity Gazette, and Benchley, a newcomer to acting, as a television newscaster who interviews beach people on the shark attacks. Gottlieb, an Emmy-winning writer, is the author of "The Jaws Log," an account of the filming at Martha's Vineyard, published by Dell. The jackhammer excitement and suspense of "Jaws," along with the brooding mystery of the eternal sea and its creatures great and small, are heightened by John Williams' original music score. Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown acknowledge the cooperation of the National Geographic Society and Mr. L.J.V. Compagno, of Stanford University's Department of Biological Sciences, in the production of "Jaws."