Hold that tiger


did anyone else just feel uncomfortable whenever jeff bridges 'sang' this in the movie? i really did.

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yes, i agree 100 percent

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Why? What was wrong with this line?

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[deleted]

Yes... it might have helped to include a little more context for that.

According to Wikipedia: "Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard, originally recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Rag

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The missing context may be that Tucker named his armored car the "Tucker Tiger", the turret of which led to a very successful business for him.

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Why does/should it make anyone feel uncomfortable? I don't get it.

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[deleted]

I cringed.
It's a good movie.
Jeff is a good actor.
But what the heck!

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Aside from one of the song's racist alternate titles, (see the wiki article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Rag) one can only surmise that the OP objects to the song's very, very, very (did I say very?) loose literary connection to the once beloved but now vilified children's story "Little Black Sambo," by Helen Bannerman, written in 1890. But since the OP has shown no regard for netiquette, by abandoning this topic, one can only guess at an explanation. Well -- if that's his/her beef -- we're talking about some serious nit picking and an extremely low threshold for what causes discomfort.

Have to wonder if there's some taking the mickey going on here, by the OP and by the respondents who have concurred but who won't answer the question about why there's a problem... Either some p**s taking by them all, or some uncommonly pompous PC mixed in with the desire to appear oh so clever.

Quid novi? Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas?

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^?? Way to get technical!

In the movie, "hold that tiger" was used in two ways.
One, it was used as "wait a minute! .. I've got an idea" in that sense.

It was also a catchphrase used to convey Tucker's happiness and excitement, such as when he won the trial.

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^?? Way to get technical!
Well -- if so -- then, as an attorney and as someone with a few OCD tendencies, I'll gladly admit it wouldn't be the first time.

However, if you and the OP are merely referring to the song's cheese factor, would it be so difficult to just say so? Pick a word, any word: cheesy, hokey, corny, (etc.)... Be a little less oblique, maybe?

Anyway... You have noticed that 87.5% of us on this thread find the OP hopelessly vague? And as much as you seem to think you get it, you still haven't said plainly what it is! And, even if you do make yourself clear, we still can't really know the OP's meaning (unless you're his sock puppet?)...

Wait... so... who's on first?




Quid novi? Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas?

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That is what I think, but at first, I automatically assumed it had something to do with the Panzer VI, the Tiger I.

Although, Tucker himself named the car simply Tucker, rather than Tucker Torpedo, to avoid the painful memories of German U-Boats sinking Allied ships in WWII, so it would be unlikely at least for him to use an expression refering to a German tank.

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There's always some PC jerkoff who's 'offended' by something nowadays. Now I guess they'll have to stop playing Hold That Tiger at LSU football games because some pansy is bringing out the race card again.

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Worst. Song. Ever.

It's the only part of the movie I hate, and I REALLY hate that it happens more than once.

For me it's not any association to anything else, it's the sheer annoying nature of someone saying "Hold that Tiger" 3,000 times, let alone set to annoying music.

It is the one and only reason I came to check out this movie on imdb. I really enjoyed the movie, but this song/line/music in the movie was like nails on chalkboard.

I really like this movie, but if recommending to friends would have to do so with the caveat: "Tucker is a great fun movie, but there is this horribly obnoxious and annoying song in it a couple time that is in the music for the movie and the main character sings a few times and it will annoy the **** out of you, but if you can stand THAT, it's brilliant on so many other levels, since you get Joan Allen, The Dude, Christian Slater, Martin Landau, Elias Koteas, and even Frederic "I almost singlehandedly ruined Lonesome Dove" Forrest turning in great performances."

For me personally, these lines knocks the movie down from about a 9 to about a 6-7. Just too annoying to be committed to film. It would be like having an engrossing movie like Citizen Kane, and at the end of every scene, Welles mugs to the camera and says "yeah! that's how it's down" then winks and whistles "Mammy". Obnoxious.

Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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Well put, keyser! I really never felt strongly about the song, either way (but it's been years since I saw it last). Seriously, though: after that compelling argument, I won't be able to watch/remember this flick the same way again!

Quid novi? Vidistine nuper imagines moventes bonas?

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I try to keep it real :) .

Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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I don't get it -- yes, it is offensive for our day and age, but it is contextual for the time period. Are you as equally uncomfortable watching 'Gone With The Wind' because it depicts slaves? Or early burlesque because some white performers used black face? It was a fact of its time and nothing else. I think you are all reading a bit too much into it.

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No not at all. Historical context is great. But having the WORST SONG POSSIBLE out of a time period isn't necessarily the best way to invoke the time period.

An Example: If I were watching a movie about the late 1980's, and the main character broke into song 5 times during the course of the film and sang "I'm too sexy for my shirt". That may be contextually accurate, but it's still a STUPID STUPID ANNOYING choice. :)

Another example: Saving Private Ryan we want Tom Hanks to break into a campy loud rendition of "Over There!" after every firefight. Historically accurate? Yes. STUPID and ANNOYING and destroys the movie? Yup.

I don't care about the "offensiveness" of it in terms of PC. It would be more offensive to me if slaves were taken OUT of GWTW, because that would make it historically inaccurate. It's the annoying nature of the song that bugs me.


Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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Does a character repeatedly singing a few bars of a popular song REALLY ruin an entire movie for you? If that's true, you may have some serious "issues."

Besides, for all we know, the real Preston Tucker may have had a habit of breaking into that very song!


All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

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Depends. IF a character has extremely annoying habits, and happens to be the main character, then yes, it can ruin an entire movie for me. Other Examples: Jar Jar Binks' stupid way of talking in SW Episode 1; The idiotic way Adrien Brody climbs on top of china cabinets, wears nazi coats when going to meet russians, etc in The Pianist; Chris Tucker's annoying voice in all of the Friday movies AND The Fifth Element... I could go on.

If he broke into THAT particular song, he would lack the mental faculties to build a car in the first place.

Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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I don't get it -- yes, it is offensive for our day and age, but it is contextual for the time period

The tune "Tiger Rag" dates from the early jazz era, probably from around 1900. Whether Preston Tucker really had a habit of singing that tune, I suppose nobody really knows.

In any case, the song is annoyingly repetitive and monotonous, to be sure, but offensive? The only lyrics consist of "Hold that tiger" and "Where's that tiger" repeated over and over again.


All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

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Yea, it's stupid and annoying, but I wouldn't call it offensive.

Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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No, the title for "Worst. Song. Ever." goes to "Baby Can You Dig Yo Man" that was used probably dozens of times in the mini-series The Stand.

I'll admit that I didn't read the novel, and maybe the song played a role in the plot. While I am aware that Nick Andros (played by Rob Lowe) was the performer of the fictional hit and was a major character, the song itself played no vital role in the screenplay. Nor was Nick's fame as a result of the hit used in an integral way. These two facts combine with the result that all references to that annoying song could have been left on the cutting room floor and the story would have been much more enjoyable.

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Nick Andros was the deaf and mute one. Larry Underwood was the singer(played by Adam Storke).

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see

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Well.

There's no accounting for taste. If Coppola swore up and down to it, and the Tucker kids were cool with it, who am I to judge?

I do hate it in the movie, but I overall loved the movie, which is why I hated it so much. If it were an otherwise crappy movie, it wouldn't have bothered me, since it would be another turd on a pile of crap, but when you have a really amazing plate of pasta with a turd on it... well, THAT is an obnoxious turd.

I'm thinking him saying "Over There, Over There" wouldn't have been too awesome either. Less face it. We had some crap music back then.

Amateurs built The Ark, professionals built The Titanic.

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Love the movie but don't really care for the song. I guess it was just a song that was in vogue at the time. It just showed that Preston Tucker was in step with the times.

"Who knows, Mr. Gilbert, what a limit really is." Lincoln Bond, "Toward The Unknown", 1956

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Oooh where's that tiger now) Where's that tiger where's that tiger where's that tiger where's that tiger Hold that tiger hold that tiger hold that tiger hold that tiger Hold him choke him kick him pokin' Where's that tiger where's that tiger where oh where can he beLow or highbrow they all cry now where can that tiger be[ choir ]Whip it hard till it moans whip it hard till it groans let her grip start to clip its claw

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/hold-that-tiger-tiger-rag-lyrics-claude-king.html ]

Where's that tiger...[ guitar ]Where's that tiger where's that tiger where oh where can he beLow or highbrow they all cry now where can that tiger be

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Not at all. Jeff Bridges is incredible in this role.

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