Jaws proves the power of a snappy title

Brace yourselves. Jaws, Steven Spielberg's masterpiece of a blockbuster, turns 50 next month, an anniversary that will doubtless be marked by prolonged reminiscences involving not only mechanical sharks - the three designed by Robert Mattey, who also made the the giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, didn't work until two-thirds of the film had been shot - but also the long-seated fears of people like me, who spent every childhood visit to the seaside refusing to go into water deeper than three inches.

- Rachel Cooke

Even now, I begin flailing about, should any bladderwrack unexpectedly graze my ankles.

Jaws nerds are legion; I'm not sure I can add anything new to the mix. But having watched a forthcoming National Geographic documentary about the movie that was for a while the highest-grossing in history, I'm reminded of the vital importance of titles. Peter Benchley, who wrote the best-selling novel on which the film is based, struggled to find the right one: a notebook exists in which his many misfires - Stillness in the Water, Leviathan Rising - are all listed. Only at the last minute did he come up with Jaws, and the rest - open wide! - is history.