Sauvez le tigre

The wife is out of town, the kids are in bed, it's just me and the dog.....Save the Tiger came on AMC. I remember going to the theater in 1973, at age 18 and seeing this movie. I was impressed by Jack Lemmon's performance back then. Seeing it now, at age 44....Wow! Jack was my father back then, now I'm my father. I think save the Tiger was the first movie I ever saw that didn't have a happy ending. Except for some dated parts, it is still a very powerful movie about the harshness of life. In real life, well dressed men and women spend every day trying to continue while burdened with almost impossible problems on their back. And we do what we have to do to get by. Little honor in that, but it's real life. Save the Tiger reminded me to be a little nicer to the next grump I meet, I may not know what is hiding behind the nice suit. Laurie Heineman as Myra the hippy chick excited me then and now and is still that fantasy oasis every aging, harried man dreams of to escape the world of his own making.

Jack Lemmon will always be remembered for his comic performances. However, he could have been just as great as a dramatic actor. Save the Tiger and his tour-de-force performance in it more than proves that.

He plays Harry Stoner, owner of an heavily indebted ladies designer clothes manufacturing company. The film covers just 2-3 days of his life and we get a pretty good idea of his sad existence in the urban jungle and what he has become - no longer a good, decent person fighting for the right cause. There are references to Stoner's war record and patriotism throughout the film. The fact that the US was fighting the very unpopular Vietnam war could have influenced the themes of this film.

There is little in the way of plot but there is a rich characterization made deeper by the crises in Stoner's life and Lemmon's excellent depiction of a man who is cracking at the seams. My favorite scenes were the ones in the car with the hippie girl towards the beginning of the film and the question she asked him and Lemmon's comic reaction....

I first saw this movie as a young man on PBS in Boston,in the late seventies and was immediately struck by the power, honesty and conviction of Lemmon's portrayal, of the ultimate mid life crisis.

Little did I know, that thirty years later, I would be going through one of my own and would once again be drawn to, and struck by, the sincerity and integrity of Jack Lemmon's performance.

The film has it's critics, self indulgent, sentimental and simplistic are only some of comments made, but the film still has the power to make you question what you have done with your own life. It asks you how you got to where you are, and it makes you ask yourself if it was all worth it. It also questions/exposes the Great American Dream and asks, if that is not the be all and end all, then what is?

Harry Stoner is not a man you should feel sorry for, but Lemmon's interpretation forces you to question his ideals and your own, as you follow this crisis point in his life. In the end, whether you like the film or not, or agree with what it is trying to say, you can't deny Lemmon his Academy Award.

I saw this movie on cable when I was probably 18 or 20 years old, and from the first time watching it, I was enthralled. It really does engross you. I think the credit (and Im happy to say the Oscar) goes to Jack Lemmon, an actor who

really did have the everyman down to a science. The movie is an excellent

commentary on dreams coming apart, the loss of old friends, and realizing

youre time may have come and gone. Not exactly the most uplifting movie but it is raw and honest. Lemmon and his partner run Capri Casuals, a women's wear

line based in southern California in the early 70's. (incidentally the name comes from the island where most of Lemmons war time buddies were killed and

buried) When times get tough and Lemmon is lowering himself by becoming a

pimp to a big customer, he realizes his American dream might be over. In

consultation with his partner he decides to hire an arsonist to destroy his factory for the insurance. An intense, searing performance from Lemmon, makes Save

the Tiger a movie that should be watched for years to come.

Highly Recommended.

Jack Lemmon's wonderful gift for portraying the every day man is fully at work here.

The film almost has a low budget, made-for-television feel and look. But it still delivers an engrossing story of people under stress.