Like most live-action movies of the latter half of the 20th century, this next movie was completely new to me and I was curious to see what it would be like. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.
A Brief Summary
(Taken from D23)
A drunken truck driver accidentally permits a mistreated tiger to escape from captivity while the circus wagon is undergoing repairs in a small country town garage. This animal, never out of captivity, escapes into the countryside, hungry, frightened, and incapable of coping with this new way of life. Julie, the young daughter of the local sheriff, realizes that the gathering hordes of local hunters, the Army, and her father’s deputies will kill the tiger, who does not belong in the wilds but back in captivity. She succeeds in winning over her father, who decides to send for a tranquilizer gun located in a nearby city in an effort to capture the animal peacefully before it is killed by an aroused and panic-stricken community. In the end, the animal is spared and returned to the only life it knows, at the local zoo.
What works
- Sheriff William’s daughter, Judy, is shown from the get-go as an animal lover, and the scene between her and the tiger hints at her later role in the movie.
- When Judy gets hurt trying to run away from the tiger, the adults naturally assume it was the tiger who hurt her (and it wasn’t, she fell into alley trash). I really like that they cleared that up quickly. That would have been a weak ‘misunderstanding’ to use for their later tiger hunt.
- The political/media people remind me of the Mayor and council from Jaws, both in terms of conversation and level of panicking.
- Speaking of Jaws, the discovery of the dead trainer (Joe) in the fog was such a Jaws moment (more so when Ben Gardner’s body was found than Chrissie’s at the beginning).
- I really like that the story is set during an election year. It takes some focus away from the tiger hunt and brings it back to the people. Too much focus on the tiger hunt would have really pushed the
- I’m enjoying this movie a bit more the second time than I did the first viewing. Still not that good of a movie, but it does have some aspects that are good and very relatable to today.
- The intelligence level of the majority of the people matches the intelligence of most people during the current pandemic.
What may or may not work
- The other trainer (joe Pietz/the bully) is too much of a cookie-cutter villain. He definitely gets the job done as an antagonist but he’s so perfectly bad (which isn’t a good thing) that he feels fake/forced
- Ray Singh (the other tiger trainer with the circus) is shown as the polar opposite of Joe Pietz, the Mario to his Waluigi/Wario
- I love how foggy it gets (because visually it is fantastic) but it did seem a little much for what was needed to keep the story moving forward.
- “get that tiger/save that tiger”
- Quite possibly one of the worst chants I’ve ever heard and I wonder how long it took them to come up with it or if they just pulled it from the book that the movie was based on.
- A plus moment was that Sheriff Williams hates the ‘save that tiger’ chant as much as I do.
Honorable Mentions
- Mrs. Watkins, the hotel owner, constantly sings Zippadee-doo-dah throughout the movie. It was a random but entertaining (for me) delight.
- “People are so stupid, they’re spreading a lot of wild stories, trying to scare each other. All they do is scare themselves” – Sherriff Williams after the death of Pietz and the chaotic arrival of the press.
- “Sheriff, uh, the colonel wanted me to make clear something right from the start.” – National Guard Captain
- “What?”
- Well if one of our boys brings down the tiger, we want to take the head. Well the colonel plans to have it mounted in the officer’s mess hall, it isn’t every outfit that gets assigned a tiger hunt…in the line of duty.” -National guard captain
- you’re gonna have to take that up with the people who own the tiger.”-Sheriff
- “Oh sure, the governor don’t like to play politics. Like a duck don’t like water.” – random National Guard officer after the governor’s statement of not liking to play politics during an emergency crisis.
Side Questions
- Seriously why did Kelso (the circus owner) keep him around as long as he did? Why’d he keep him at all?
- I get that they’re trying to amp up the tension, but if an animal is loose, shouldn’t the smart thing be to listen to the trainer who works with and understands the animal?
Would I watch this movie again?
- I’m adding this to the list of ‘with friends only’ movies because while there were some good moments to the story (especially during the 2nd viewing), it still wasn’t anything more than ‘fine’ to me. I am glad that I watched it, if only for the sake of saying I had seen it, but I doubt there would be any reason for me to watch it in the future (at least by myself).
If you’ve seen A Tiger Walks, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
Skip back to the previous film with The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
Fast Forward to the next film with The Moon-Spinners
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