Walking Tall (1973)
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A professional wrestler-turned-lawman takes justice into his own hands to clean up a corrupt county.
The story
Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler, retires to Tennessee to start a logging business with his father. After being brutally beaten by thugs at a gambling and prostitution establishment called The Lucky Spot, Pusser finds that the local sheriff ignores his pleas for justice. Realizing the rampant corruption in McNairy County, Pusser begins taking matters into his own hands. He fashions a club from a tree branch and begins confronting the thugs who assaulted him, eventually leading to a legal battle where he represents himself to expose the violence of the local criminals.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being beaten by thugs at The Lucky Spot, Buford Pusser begins a vigilante campaign against the criminals of McNairy County using a hickory club. He represents himself in court, showing his scars to a jury, and is found not guilty. He then runs for sheriff, surviving an assassination attempt during the campaign. Elected, Pusser becomes a famous, incorruptible lawman who destroys gambling dens and illegal distilleries. While some residents praise his honesty, others call him a bully. Pusser is eventually betrayed by a deputy and ambushed with his wife, Pauline. Pauline is killed, and Pusser is seriously injured. While in a neck-and-face cast, Pusser attends his wife's funeral before ramming a cruiser into The Lucky Spot, killing two assassins. The film ends with townspeople helping Pusser clear out the gambling tables as they light a bonfire.
- First release year
- 1973
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Phil Karlson
- Writers
- Mort Briskin · writer; Stephen Downing · uncredited writer; John Michael Hayes · uncredited writer
- Cast and characters
- Joe Don Baker · Buford Pusser; Elizabeth Hartman · Pauline
- Genres
- neo-noir; biographical; vigilante; action
- Themes
- vigilantism; corruption; justice; revenge
- Tone and mood
- ultraviolent; over-the-top; action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; vigilante; revenge; crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- Buford Pusser's story of his life
- Franchise connections
- Walking Tall
- Reception
- The film was a box-office smash and has become a cult film. It received mixed to positive critical responses, with some praising its artistry and others noting its use of clichés.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 77% · review count: 13; Metacritic · score: 60%
- Awards and nominations
- Nominated Hero · AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains · 2003 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was a box-office smash, grossing over $40 million on a $500,000 budget.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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