Save the Tiger

Save The Tiger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John G. Avildsen
Produced by	Edward S. Feldman Martin Ransohoff Steve Shagan
Written by	Steve Shagan
Starring	Jack Lemmon Jack Gilford Laurie Heineman Norman Burton Patricia Smith
Editing by	David Bretherton
Studio	Filmways
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 14, 1973 (1973-02-14)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Save the Tiger is a 1973 film about moral conflict in contemporary America. It stars Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Thayer David, Lara Parker and Liv Lindeland. The film is directed by John G. Avildsen and adapted from the novel of the same title by Steve Shagan, (the first book by the author of The Formula and other thrillers, and generally regarded to be his most successful novel by literary standards).

Jack Lemmon plays Harry Stoner, an executive at a Los Angeles apparel company on the edge of ruin. Throughout the film, Stoner struggles with the complexity of modern life versus the simplicity of his youth. He longs for the days when pitchers wound up, jazz filled the air, and the flag was more than a pattern to put on a pants pocket. He wrestles with the guilt of surviving the war and yet losing touch with the ideals for which his friends died. To Harry Stoner, the world has given up on integrity, and threatens to destroy anyone who clings to it. He is caught between watching everything he has worked for evaporate, or becoming another grain of sand in the erosion of the values he once held so dear.

Plot

A bleak story that depicts an outwardly successful man questioning the value of the material prosperity he is desperately trying to maintain, it follows the uncertain path of Harry Stoner (Jack Lemmon), an executive at an apparel company close to ruin. With no legal way to keep the company from going under, Stoner considers torching his warehouse for the insurance settlement. Meanwhile, he drinks, laments the state of the world, and tries his best to keep the business rolling as usual. This last task is complicated when a client has a heart attack in the arms of a prostitute provided by Stoner. With nerves still shaky, Stoner takes the stage at the premiere of his company's new line, only to be overcome by war memories. He ends the day spontaneously deciding to go home with a young, free-spirited hitchhiker, whose ignorance of his generation underscores his isolation from the world around him. At the end of the film, Stoner agrees to the warehouse getting torched and then walks by a Little League game and attempts to act as pitcher to the children. One child shouts out, "You can't play with us, Mister!", leaving Stoner yet again isolated from another part of society.

Production and reception

The movie was written by Steve Shagan and directed by John G. Avildsen. Lemmon was determined to make the movie, despite its limited commercial prospects, and so he waived his usual salary and worked for scale. The movie was filmed in sequence after three weeks of rehearsal in Los Angeles. There is also a novel version of Save the Tiger, by Shagan: the title comes from a campaign to save tigers from extinction to which Stoner contributes. The movie failed financially at the box office, but critics and viewers who saw it liked the Oscar winning performance of Jack Lemmon as Stoner.

Award and nominations

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Jack Lemmon
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay-Adapted Steve Shagan

Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Jack Gilford
• Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Steve Shagan

• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor-Drama Jack Lemmon
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Jack Gilford

External links

• Save The Tiger at the Internet Movie Database
• Save the Tiger at Rotten Tomatoes