Orca (1977) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - July 13, 1977

Dino De Laurentiis followed his 1976 remake of King Kong with Orca, a blatant attempt at crafting a Jaws-sized hit at the box office.

Although not what one would call a critical or artistic success, Orca did manage to break even at the box office. I know I saw it at least twice on the big screen in the summer of 1977. I just loved the idea of a super smart killer whale crushing the collective asses of those responsible for the death of its mate and child.

The movie also instigated a comical pissing contest with Jaws. Orca kicks off with the titular beast dispatching a great white shark in spectacular fashion. A year later Jaws 2 would feature a scene involving a dead, shark-bit killer whale that has washed ashore. If franchise entries could talk, then Jaws 2 was sneering, "Bitch, please..."