B-Movie Gazette: JACK LEMMON IS TRYING TO "SAVE THE TIGER" (1974) - THE TIGER BEING A METAPHOR FOR HIMSELF, HIS FACTORY, AND THE IDEALS OF NOSTALGIA

B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - WITHOUT WARNING (1980)

Greetings All - It would be cool to do a post one time called the ten most essential B-flicks, sort of a B-Movie 101 thing. If that ever happened I would have to include this sci-fi horror classic from Graydon Clark (Black Shampoo, Satan's Cheerleaders.) This one's a don't pass go and don't collect $200 folks, just see it, Or watch it again. I'm not even going to begin to explain the plot except you have these flying disc things that attach themselves to people, in this case campers on an outing and kill and feed on them. Eventually these discs are tied to an alien, a hungry alien. A forerunner to 1987's Predator sort to speak and with a flat-out goofy cast. Jack Palance and Martin Landau, say what? And looking drugged out I might add but the real surprise here is veteran character actor Larry Storch, from the '60's, a guy who knew 150 dialects and here he is in this as a boy scout leader lol. Also known as It Came Without Warning, this gem is streaming free now only on Plex. 2.75 stars/2.75

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

JACK LEMMON IS TRYING TO "SAVE THE TIGER" (1974) - THE TIGER BEING A METAPHOR FOR HIMSELF, HIS FACTORY, AND THE IDEALS OF NOSTALGIA

"I don't want to talk about war, it's the ultimate joke." - Harry Stoner

"Lions and tigers always return to a place of remembered beauty. That's how they catch them." - Myra

Harry Stoner just wants one more season. To him that equates to another year with his clothing company. He's deep in the red however and the only way to stay afloat may be to resort to torching one of his two factories. His wife of many years doesn't seem to get him but a young hippy girl hitchhiker does. He feels like all the ideals of Americana have long vanished (and this was 1974!) To say he's having a mid-life crisis is putting it mildly.

You will not like this movie if you don't like the theater or movies with lots of dialog. This one speaks in tones and pulses underneath the surface. Finer acting you will find nowhere, especially the scenes with Lemmon and Jack Gilford. Twenty-four hours in the life of Harry Stoner, shot in LA in sequence and one of the true gems of the entire 70s decade. 4.0 stars/5