During some Christmas shopping at Target the other day, I ran across a section of action figures in a toy aisle that appeared to be on sale. Upon further inspection, a lot of them were figures from movies from the 80's. There were Back to the Future figures, A-Team figures, and some figures that had a large shark on them. That's right, Hooper and Sheriff Brody had been immortalized in 3.75 inch action figures. While this seemed pretty cool at the time, my mind, effortlessly and almost instinctively began to build hope. If these two fine characters from Jaws had been given the honor of being made into toys, was there a possibility that the real star of the movie had also been given his proper and due celebration. Could it be that one of my favorite movie characters of all time might lie just behind a few lesser characters from now "vintage" movies? I searched frantically, and behind the fifth figurine, hung the object of my hopes and desires. There, in perfect packaging, standing watch over the other lesser men, was an Adonis. With spear gun nearby, green jacket tailored to his lean physique, and a mustache that would make Tom Selek jealous, was the embodiment of machismo and old school grit. It took about as long to buy him up as it does for me to set the hook on a fish...so yeah, it took a while. The good captain now helps to decorate my fly tying bench along with other assorted nick knacks I have picked up over the years.
If you think about it, there aren't that many fishing movies. There's The Old Man and the Sea, A River Runs Through It, Jaws, and The Perfect Storm, but after that, well...let's just say there is a sharp decline in cinematic masterpieces. I am posing a question for you in today's post; who is your favorite fisherman from a film? Feel free to venture beyond the movies listed above and get as obscure as you like. You can post in the comments section at the bottom of the page and we can see if there is a common thread or just a variety of answers.
For what it is worth, my vote goes to Captain Quint and it is difficult to narrow down the plethora of reasons to just a few. To start with though, he's just a tough old bird. He survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and dedicated his life to avenging the loss of his shipmates and friends. But somehow I think he knew that the beast that granted him clemency once would not be so forgiving again after he backhanded karma with a pair of leather gloves. Second, he was incredibly versatile on the water when in the pursuit of his quarry. It's a heck of a guy that can go after a shark on "light" tackle, hit it with a spear gun, track barrels all over the coast of New England, and tie the beast off to the stern of his boat. The final component of this highly intellectual thesis is his seemingly unending wit. Charming he was not, but this guy had a comeback for every time his methods were questioned. Granted, he ended up going as crazy as cat in a room full of rocking chairs but he didn't take any guff off of anybody and I like that in a movie tough guy. Brody wanted to steer the boat, and Quin put back to chumming. Hooper told him to slow the boat down, and he mashed on the throttle even more. He said he would never put on a life jacket ever again, and by God, another piece of buoyant material never graced his shoulders that's for sure.
Was he flawed? Sure he was but aren't we all? Hasn't there been a time when you were fishing in horrible weather, or at a ridiculous hour, or driven a hundred miles to catch a species of fish you don't have close to home? Couldn't these things be considered crazy by the nonfishing type? Am I playing the question game? Am I? Anyway, that's what makes Quint easy to relate to. I once spent a ridiculous amount of time in my early 20's in the pursuit of my first six pound bass. So much so that I probably allowed it to become an unhealthy obsession that dominated my thoughts for hours a day and my dreams at night. (And yes, I did catch my six pounder as a result). He never gave up, sank his life savings into a shack and boat, and spent his time catching fish and boiling shark jaws. Crazy or awesome? I say awesome.
So let's hear it folks, who is your favorite cinematic fisherman. Feel free to leave comments below and plead your case if you should feel so inclined.
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