The incredible story of how Michael Caine saved Lance Guest’s life
Widely recognised as one of the most talented actors in film history, Michael Caine has made multiple invaluable cinematic contributions throughout wildly different eras of filmmaking. From early iconic roles in classics such as The Italian Job to more recent outings in beloved projects like The Dark Knight Trilogy, Caine’s body of work is full of stunning achievements. However, even an artist of his calibre has some professional regrets.
Among those missteps, one particularly notable failure is the fourth addition to the Jaws franchise called Jaws: The Revenge. Due to the widespread negative reception surrounding the release, it marked the end of the movie series that was already showing signs of serious fatigue. When asked about the cheap sequel, Caine once famously said: “I have never seen the film, but by all accounts, it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
Since the movie was an uninspired cash grab, the best thing Caine did during the production was save the life of a co-star. During one particular scene, which required Caine, Mario Van Peebles and Lance Guest to be on a tiny boat that was quickly filling up with water, Guest found himself stuck on it with a massive battery pack that could have been responsible for a massive accident. However, Caine stepped in at the last moment to save the day.
Guest told Syfy: “As the boat goes down, the cameraman throws the camera on the barge, which is about five feet away, and somebody catches the camera. Mario jumps overboard, and the boat fills with water. So I’m sitting in a bathtub with a toaster. I feel this hand behind me, and I heard Michael scream, ‘Get the f*** out of the boat.’ With one hand, he pulls me out of the boat and onto the board because he didn’t want me to get electrocuted. So that’s my great Jaws: The Revenge story.”
In the same interview, the actor clarified that proper precautions were taken throughout the production, but this one incident could have terminated his life right then and there. Guest added: “I have Michael Caine to thank for my life. But, like I said, it wasn’t unsafe working conditions or anything like that. It could have been a twelve-volt battery pack, and it was covered in plastic, I have no idea why, but it’s just kind of funny.”
While many minor movies, including the Jaws sequels, tried to capitalise on the blockbuster trend, nothing could match the atmospheric tension created in Steven Spielberg’s original. In the years that have followed, productions like Jaws: The Revenge have been viewed by newer generations of audiences as unintentional comedies.
Watch a hilarious scene from the movie below.
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