Bullet Points: Sharks’ Treasure

Sharks date back hundreds of millions of years and have evolved into one of nature’s deadliest predators. The shark movie on the other hand only dates back to the release of Jaws in 1975 and has evolved into one of cinema’s mixed bag genres. It was much easier to get a shark movie made after 1975, but that doesn’t mean every shark movie should have been made. Luckily, there are some solid shark movies, and one that happened to also be released in 1975, thanks to Jaws, is the Cornel Wilde written, directed and starring film Sharks’ Treasure. Wilde had the story written in the late sixties but was unable to get it made until Jaws but releasing it in the shadow of the alpha shark movie did it no favors. That is where BulletproofAction.com can step in with some Bullet Points for a shark movie that features real life sharks (take that, Jaws), Sharks’ Treasure.

• Gold Fever – Ron is a young diver in the southern Caribbean who happens upon a shipwreck and a gold coin. He takes the coin to noted treasure hunter Jim Carnahan (Wilde, The Naked Prey) because Jim has the boat and expertise. While shopping for supplies at the local market, well it is more than a market and it is just like a mini mall, the clerk Ben Flynn (Yaphet Kotto, Live and Let Die) recognizes Jim and offers his service and his friend Larry’s service as divers. We now have our treasure hunting quartet.
• Rough Water – Things are not very smooth for our foursome. Larry is strange and stutters, but that is because of his negative experience as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. Ben dislikes Jim’s strict rules aboard the Moby I, especially his anti-smoking policy. The prospect of treasure makes any differences easy enough to overcome. On the way to the treasure, the boat stops off in Honduras where they learn of some escaped convicts on the loose. While it does give us the first action set piece in Sharks’ Treasure, I think the information might play a bigger role later in the film than just allowing the audience to see someone get shot.

• You Start to Feel Bad For the Sharks – The boat makes it out where Ron thinks the treasure is but they don’t find much gold, but they do find sharks.  Not that is a problem for me because one of the main reasons to watch Sharks’ Treasure is for all the underwater footage of sharks. However, the lack of gold and deadly sharks in the water make the tensions on the boat rise. They eventually find the shipwreck, but find even more sharks. The crew need to catch and kill the sharks to clear out the dive site. You can look away now if you don’t want to see real sharks strung up under water. The treatment of sharks wasn’t great in Sharks’ Treasure, but seeing Jim and Ron in a shark cage fighting an actual shark it was either kill or be killed.

• The Misadventures of Convict Lobo – The crew of the Moby I are really raking in the treasure and they are all getting along and is about that time when everything is perfect when the convicts show up out of nowhere and take over the boat. The convicts are led by Lobo, a man who has nothing to lose, but when he learns of the treasure he decides to let the crew live and keep diving to bring up more treasure. Larry tries a coup, but just like his speech he stutters and gets a knife in the back and a toss overboard. At least the sharks have something good to eat, except that brings the sharks back. Jim challenges Lobo to a boxing match for control of the ship. Lobo happily agrees because he is bigger and much younger as Jim looks old enough to have gone 10 rounds with John L. Sullivan himself… Lobo wins.
• Don’t Boat and Drink – Eventually the liquor and poor treatment of one of the other convicts gives Jim and his crew a chance to escape on a Zodiac. To be a little more specific, the poor treatment of Juanito by Lobo was, besides being one of his downfalls, was the most unnecessary scene in Sharks’ Treasure. Lobo tries to force Juanito to put on a bikini and dance for the men on the boat and when he won’t do it, Lobo takes off his belt and beats Juanito. Suddenly the treatment of the sharks doesn’t seem so bad. Both groups eventually make it to an island and that is where they will square off, but not before more sea life plays a role. The tragic star-crossed lovers ending for two of the characters almost overshadowed Jim, Ben and Ron taking on the convicts… almost.

Sharks’ Treasure is a film that when taken in a vacuum is an enjoyable action movie. When compared to Jaws it cannot compete in story telling or tension, but it way outclasses Jaws with actual shark footage and zero mechanical sharks. The cast makes Sharks’ Treasure worth a watch as this was clearly something Wilde was passionate about as he wrote and directed along with starring, and I still haven’t seen a Yaphet Kotto movie that isn’t worth watching. If you still need more reason to give Sharks’ Treasure a watch I happen to have a little treasure at the end in the form of Sharks’ Treasure Bonus Bullet Points.

• Another Credit – Wilde also wrote the theme song to Sharks’ Treasure, “Money Money” under the pseudonym Jefferson Pascal and was sung by Ken Barrie.
• You Can Do Better – I love a good montage, but two separate still shot montage sequences left a lot to be desired.
• If You Ever Wanted… – to see a painting of a topless woman playing ping-pong on the front of a bar than Sharks’ Treasure is for you.
• Familiar Faces – I don’t remember if he says a word, but the convict Ishi was played by Dale Ishimoto who is recognizable from Enter the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination. I also recognized the waitress at the bar was played by Roxanna Bonilla-Giannini whom you might have seen in The Unholy Rollers.
• Movie With a Message – There is a strong anti-smoking and drinking message in Sharks’ Treasure, along with an anti-pollution message. Jim is even seen reading The Doomsday Book: Can the World Survive? By Gordon Rattray Taylor.
• Diver’s Paradise – Much of the filming was done on and around the island of Bonaire. And contrary to Chris the Brain’s belief, it is pronounced bon-air and not bone-er like he thinks.