Save the Tiger
A financially ruined clothing manufacturer spends a volatile day trying to preserve his business, marriage, and sense of self while the American dream slips away.
Overview
A man grapples with the weight of his past while navigating a chaotic present filled with questionable choices.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- anxious
- serious
- classic cinema night
- 1970s film retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Jack Lemmon's outstanding performance and recognized the film as a serious, brave examination of early-1970s American anxiety despite reservations about its execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Harry Stoner responds to debt and a failing clothing business by arranging an insurance fire and pursuing increasingly compromised solutions.
Harry's affluent Beverly Hills life, failing marriage, and indebted company expose the hollowness beneath commercial success.
The plot unfolds across a day and a half packed with business schemes, personal encounters, social obligations, and memory intrusions.
The clothing factory, fashion show, and fashion-industry setting connect Harry's commercial world to his effort to preserve an increasingly artificial lifestyle.
Films like Save the Tiger, and why
The Conversation
shared midlife crisis, corrosive ambition, and anxious examination of American prosperity
The Last Detail
shared 1970s American malaise, morally compromised professionals, and serious character-driven drama
The King of Marvin Gardens
shared failing-dream themes, business pressure, and psychologically intense portrait of a troubled man
A Serious Man
shared corporate anxiety, marital strain, and critique of affluent American life
Movie Details
- Director
- John G. Avildsen
- Release Date
- 1973-02-14
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (98)
Cast
- Jack Lemmon
- Jack Gilford
- Laurie Heineman
- Norman Burton
- Patricia Smith
- Thayer David
- William Hansen
- Harvey Jason
- Liv Lindeland
- Lara Parker
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Save the Tiger about?
- A financially ruined clothing manufacturer spends a volatile day trying to preserve his business, marriage, and sense of self while the American dream slips away.
- What is Save the Tiger like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Save the Tiger as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Save the Tiger violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Save the Tiger as mild.
- What did critics think of Save the Tiger?
- Critics broadly praised Jack Lemmon's outstanding performance and recognized the film as a serious, brave examination of early-1970s American anxiety despite reservations about its execution.
- Which films are like Save the Tiger?
- Films with a similar feel include The Conversation, The Last Detail, The King of Marvin Gardens, and A Serious Man.
- How long is Save the Tiger?
- Save the Tiger runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Save the Tiger?
- In United States, Save the Tiger is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
