Save the Tiger (1973)

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer:

Steve Shagan (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 1973 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Jack Lemmon in his most important dramatic role since "The Days of Wine and Roses."

Plot:

A businessman's professional struggles begin to conflict with his personal life over the course of two days.

Plot Keywords:

Businessman | Fashion Show | Beach | Suit | Tie

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Harry Stoner
Jack Gilford	...	Phil Greene
Laurie Heineman	...	Myra
Norman Burton	...	Fred Mirrell
Patricia Smith	...	Janet Stoner
Thayer David	...	Charlie Robbins
William Hansen	...	Meyer
Harvey Jason	...	Rico
Liv Lindeland	...	Ula (as Liv Von Linden)
Lara Parker	...	Margo
Eloise Hardt	...	Jackie
Janina	...	Dusty
Ned Glass	...	Sid Fivush
Pearl Shear	...	Cashier
Biff Elliot	...	Tiger Petitioner (as Biff Elliott)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (2005) | UK:AA (original rating) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Filmways Pictures

Trivia:

Jack Lemmon admitted to having had a serious drinking problem at one time, which is one reason he looks back on his Oscar-winning role as Harry Stoner in Save the Tiger (1973) as perhaps the most gratifying, emotionally fulfilling performance of his career.

Goofs:

Continuity: Harry wipes Fred's face almost completely clean of the red body paint. In a subsequent shot, Fred's face is covered with red paint again.

Quotes:

Myra: Are you OK? Do you want something?
Harry Stoner: Yes. I want that girl in a Cole Porter song. I wanna see Lena Horne at the Cotton Club - hear Billie Holiday sing fine and mellow - walk in that kind of rain that never washes perfume away. I wanna be in love with something. Anything. Just the idea. A dog, a cat. Anything. Just something.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

Stompin' At The Savoy

Life Ain't About Simple Choices

Save the Tiger is about lost illusions of youth and the things some of us have to do to merely keep treading water. Jack Lemmon is the head of a garment factory which has suffered some losses over the past few years and he and partner Jack Gilford see few options that will save them from bankruptcy or worse.

The best of these options is to start an arson fire in their factory and hope the insurance payoff will cancel their debts and afford a fresh start. Gilford is against it on moral principles, but Lemmon is a guy who can't afford morals at this stage as George Bernard Shaw once put it.

Still he looks back on his youth and the things and people that moved him back in the day and wonders how he got in the mess he's in. It's not supposed to be like this for people like him who've had ideals and tried to play by the rules.

In his facial expressions, his vocal intonations, in every move of his body and soul, Lemmon becomes Harry Stoner the latest convert to cynicism. It's what got Jack Lemmon his Second Academy Award, this time for Best Actor. Interesting that this very cynical film came out the year that a whole lot of Americans became very cynical as Watergate was unfolding before them.

Arson fire is a tricky business and Lemmon puts himself in the hands of Thayer David who I think gives his best screen portrayal here as the professional arsonist. Listening to him, as creepy as he sounds, he comes off as a man who knows his business. He even at one point offers to return the down payment given him when he explains that insurance will never pay off with all the fire regulation violations Lemmon and Gilford have in their place. It's a business with him and no fatalities must occur, otherwise it's a Law and Order episode.

Jack Lemmon was one of the best around, could do all kinds of comedy and drama with equal skill. Building on the characters he created for Billy Wilder, he's an older man now who's in no position to start from scratch again. Lemmon plays a character that all of us over 40 can definitely relate to.

Save the Tiger is a serious and thought provoking drama about choices each and every one of us could face some time in our lives. It's universality of theme will make it an enduring classic.