Save the Tiger

Save the Tiger is a 1973 drama film about moral conflict in contemporary America directed by John G. Avildsen, and starring Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Thayer David, Lara Parker, and Liv Lindeland. The screenplay was adapted by Steve Shagan from his novel of the same title.

Lemmon won the 1973 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Harry Stoner (making him the first of six actors to win Oscars for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor), an executive in the garment industry who struggles with the complexity of modern life versus the simplicity of his youth.

Plot
Harry Stoner (Jack Lemmon) is an executive at a Los Angeles 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.

The arson is agreed to very reluctantly by his partner (Jack Gilford), a stable family man who watches Harry's decline with alarm. Through it all, Harry 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 girl hitchhiker, whose ignorance of his generation underscores his isolation from the world around him.

Cast

 * Jack Lemmon as Harry Stoner
 * Jack Gilford as Phil Greene
 * Laurie Heineman as Myra
 * Norman Burton as Fred Mirrell
 * Patricia Smith as Janet Stoner
 * Thayer David as Charlie Robbins
 * William Hansen as Meyer
 * Harvey Jason as Rico
 * Lin Von Linden as Ula


 * Lara Parker as Margo
 * Eloise Hart as Jackie
 * Janina as Dusty
 * Ned Glass as Sid Fivush
 * Pearl Shear as Cashier
 * Biff Elliot as Tiger Petitioner
 * Ben Freedman as Taxi Driver
 * Madeline Lee as Receptionist

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.

Reception
The movie failed financially at the box office, but critics and viewers who saw it liked the performance of Lemmon as Stoner.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10.

Award wins and nominations

 * Wins
 * Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Jack Lemmon
 * Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay – Steve Shagan


 * Nominations
 * Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – Jack Gilford
 * Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay – Steve Shagan
 * Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
 * Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor (Drama) – Jack Lemmon
 * Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Jack Gilford