A Tiger Walks

Synopsis
The “boy and his misunderstood dog” formula has been a time-honored movie tradition almost since the beginning, but the “girl and her misunderstood Bengal tiger” genre is another story. Disney’s A Tiger Walks was one of the few films in the latter category, a change of pace for the company that had brought Old Yeller to the screen seven years earlier.

The misunderstanding begins when a tiger escapes from a passing circus, hiding out in the nearby woods of a small, middle-American town. The locals, understandably frightened, want Sheriff Pete Williams to kill the beast, but Pete’s big-hearted 12-year-old daughter Julie thinks the tiger should be captured and turned over to the zoo. As the tiger’s story spreads, news-hungry reporters descend upon the town, and the governor (up for re-election) is stuck with a tricky political situation.

The governor sides with the panicky people and calls in the National Guard, but little Julie goes on television to appeal to the country, asking the kids of America to contribute to a tiger-saving fund. Pete’s grizzled heart begins to sway over to his daughter’s side, but even with the help of circus trainer Ram Singh, trapping a Bengal tiger—with trigger-happy Guardsmen on the lookout everywhere—is no easy task.

Along with its unusual premise, A Tiger Walks sported a surprisingly cynical outlook on small-town America. The usual corrupt fat cats were lampooned, but so was nearly every adult in the movie except Sheriff Williams, his wife and Ram Singh.

Perhaps for that reason, A Tiger Walks didn’t get as much attention from moviegoers as another, more light-hearted Disney flick from earlier in the year, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. Sadly, that meant that most missed the final screen performance from famed Indian actor Sabu, who had shot to fame in 1940’s The Thief of Bagdad and passed away in late 1963.

Release History 1964 - A Tiger Walks

Sub Categories live-action
drama
disney

Studio Disney

Cast

Sheriff Pete Williams		Brian Keith
Dorothy Williams		Vera Miles
Julie Williams		Pamela Franklin
Ram Singh		Sabu
Governor		Edward Andrews
Mrs. Watkins		Una Merkel
Vern Goodman		Peter Brown
Tom Hadley		Kevin Corcoran
Bill Watkins		Frank McHugh
Lewis' Wife		Connie Gilchrist
Lewis		Arthur Hunnicutt
Josef Pietz		Theodore Marcuse
Betty Collins		Merry Anders
Joe Riley		Frank Aletter
Sam Grant		Jack Albertson