Peter Benchley’s creative involvement and the momentum from his previous successes were instrumental in shaping the production of The Deep (1977). His influence spanned from the foundational script to the casting of key personnel.
Success of Jaws and Character Continuity Produced just a few years after the massive success of Benchley’s Jaws (1975), The Deep utilized similar elements to capitalize on that earlier triumph. A significant part of this was the casting of Robert Shaw, who had starred in Jaws. Benchley believed that Shaw embodied his characters better than any other actor, making his presence a vital link between the two productions.
Direct Creative Control over the Screenplay Benchley took a direct role in the film’s development by co-writing the screenplay based on his own novel. This was a relatively rare occurrence for the author; while many of his books were eventually adapted for the screen, he only wrote screenplays for three of them: Jaws, The Deep, and The Island.
Collaborations and Networking Benchley’s previous work in television also influenced the production’s creative team. While working on the TV movies The Great Houdini and Jeremiah of Jacob’s Neck (both 1976), he met Tracey Keenan Wynn, the son of actor Keenan Wynn. This connection led to Benchley and Wynn co-writing the screenplay for The Deep.
Production Scale and Authenticity Following the “seminal” success of his previous work, the production of The Deep was characterized by an intense commitment to technical scale and realism. The production was notable for several factors:
• Location Filming: Instead of a studio tank, the film was shot on location at the RMS Rhone, an actual shipwreck in the British Virgin Islands, with scenes filmed at the bow section 75 feet underwater.
• Technical Intensity: The shoot was massive in scope, lasting 153 days and involving 8,895 dives and over 10,000 person-hours underwater.
• Actor Involvement: To maintain authenticity, lead actors Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset performed many of their own underwater scenes, though stunt doubles were used for the most dangerous sequences.
In short, Benchley’s status after Jaws allowed for a production that mirrored its predecessor’s high-stakes aquatic tension while giving him a central seat in the writing process.
To understand the production’s scale, you might think of it like a world-class orchestra following up a hit symphony; because the first performance was a masterpiece, the second was granted a much larger stage, more expensive instruments, and the original composer to lead the arrangement.
The primary location used for the film was an actual sunken vessel known as the Royal Mail Ship RMS Rhone.
According to the sources, the production utilized this site to enhance the film’s underwater cinematography, which is considered some of the best in cinema history. Key details regarding this location include:
• Geographic Location: The ship is located off the coast of Salt and Peter Islands in the British Virgin Islands.
• Historical Context: The RMS Rhone sank in 1867, breaking into two separate pieces during the disaster.
• Filming Specifics: Scenes were filmed at the bow section of the wreck, situated approximately 75 feet underwater.
• Discrepancy with Plot: While the physical filming took place at the RMS Rhone in the British Virgin Islands, the film’s narrative is set in Bermuda. In the story, the characters find a fictional shipwreck filled with gold and jewelry hidden beneath a World War II shipwreck containing thousands of vials of morphine.
The logistical commitment to filming at this authentic location was immense, involving a 153-day shoot and the consumption of over one million cubic feet of compressed air.
To visualize the authenticity of the setting, you might think of it as a time capsule at the bottom of the ocean; rather than building a set to look like history, the filmmakers took the audience directly into a genuine piece of the past.
