Character Relationship Map: Save the Tiger

Characters

• Harry Stoner (played by Jack Lemmon) — protagonist

  Harry Stoner is the central figure, a Beverly Hills apparel executive and co-owner of Capri Casuals whose financial desperation, wartime trauma, and nostalgia for his baseball youth drive the story. H...

• Phil Greene (played by Jack Gilford) — supporting

  Phil Greene is Harry Stoner's business partner at the financially troubled Capri Casuals. He has helped Harry conceal the company's losses through fraudulent accounting and argues with him about finan...

• Myra (played by Laurie Heineman) — supporting

  Myra is a free-spirited young hitchhiker whom Harry Stoner picks up on Sunset Strip. She openly asks whether he wants to have sex, but Harry declines, later takes her to a house where she is staying,...

• Charlie Robbins (played by Thayer David) — supporting

  Charlie Robbins is the arsonist hired by Harry Stoner and Phil Greene to burn their Long Beach factory for an insurance payout. After inspecting the property, he explains that its safety violations ma...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Phil Greene → Charlie Robbins (Professional Co-Contractor) — Phil is initially involved in the arson arrangement before Harry excludes him.

  Phil attends the first clandestine meeting with Charlie and participates in passing over the retainer and factory information.

• Harry Stoner → Charlie Robbins (Professional Employer) — Harry directly recruits Charlie for the planned arson.

  Harry and Phil meet Charlie in a theater balcony, give him a cash retainer, and hire him to burn the factory.

• Harry Stoner → Phil Greene (Professional Business Partner) — They are equal business partners facing the same financial crisis.

  Harry co-owns Capri Casuals with Phil, and both have kept the struggling company operating through fraudulent accounting.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Harry Stoner → Myra (Social Brief Companionship) — They form a short-lived connection outside Harry's business life.

  Harry picks Myra up while she is hitchhiking, later picks her up again, and spends the night with her at the house she is watching.

Story Analysis

A troubled businessman tries to preserve his failing enterprise while war trauma, nostalgia, and moral compromise erode his sense of control.

Plot Progression

1. A Costly American Dream — Harry's nightmares and expensive lifestyle reveal a man trapped between war trauma and financial pressure. His struggling apparel company faces fraudulent accounting and an urgent financing gap.
2. The Insurance Escape — Harry proposes burning the factory after legal financing appears insufficient. A medical emergency and Harry's public breakdown deepen the sense that his control is failing.
3. A Deal With Fire — Harry and Phil recruit Charlie to stage the factory fire. Harry also encounters Myra, whose concern highlights the emotional disconnection beneath his reckless behavior.
4. No Safe Way Out — Charlie discovers that the original insurance plan cannot work because of safety-code violations. Harry accepts a more dangerous scheme and begins abandoning Phil.
5. The Game He Lost — Harry returns briefly to the baseball imagery of his youth and throws a ball beyond the backstop. The children reject him, leaving his nostalgic escape unresolved.