Walking Tall (1973)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Phil Karlson

Writers:

Mort Briskin (writer)
Stephen Downing (writer)

Release Date:

22 February 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Action

Tagline:

Take your best shot... 'cause it'll probably be your last.

Plot:

Based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser whom almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Corruption | Tennessee | Small Town | Racial Slur

Cast

Joe Don Baker	...	Buford Pusser
Elizabeth Hartman	...	Pauline Pusser
Gene Evans	...	Sheriff Al Thurman
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Grandpa Carl Pusser
Brenda Benet	...	Luan Paxton
John Brascia	...	Prentiss Parley
Bruce Glover	...	Grady Coker
Arch Johnson	...	Buel Jaggers
Felton Perry	...	Obra Eaker
Richard X. Slattery	...	Arno Purdy
Rosemary Murphy	...	Callie Hacker
Lynn Borden	...	Margie Ann
Ed Call	...	Lutie McVey
Sidney Clute	...	Sheldon Levine
Douglas Fowley	...	Judge R.W. Clarke

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1974) | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | Norway:16 (video rating) | Norway:(Banned) (1974-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Henderson, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Bing Crosby Productions

Trivia:

Offered to Kris Kristofferson.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The ambush on Buford Pusser and his wife occured in August, 1967. Many of the police cars used in the movie, including the one Pusser has, are 1972 Dodge Polaras.

Quotes:

Buford: Hey Arno, howzit hangin?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Walking Small (1992) (V)

A manipulative action yarn, but a darn good one

*******Plot Points**********

I doubt if there has ever been a more manipulative movie made than Walking Tall. Every scene from the beginning to the end of this movie is written solely to extract some kind of emotional response from the viewer, leading up to a tear-jerking, totally contrived ending. The funny thing about it though, is it all works just the way it's supposed to, as long as you don't stop to think too much about some of the shenanigans happening on the screen. This is meant as pure entertainment, and though based on the real life exploits of Buford Pusser, you probably won't find out too much about the real person, but then I'm sure you're not supposed to.

A large part of the credit for making it work, has to go to Joe Don Baker. In undoubtedly his best role, he gives us a hero we can root for and sympathize with. When he is first beaten up and knifed at The Lucky Spot, we feel his pain. When he returns to extract his revenge, we can root for him because he just wants the money for his car and the money his friend lost at the craps table. Of course he is arrested, which leads to a trial Pusser makes an unbelievable appeal to the jury, but we root for him anyway because what's right is right, which should have been the real tagline for this. After his acquittal, Pusser runs for Sheriff, is almost run down by the current Sheriff Al Thurman, who promptly wrecks trying to do so, but this enables Pusser to Save Thurman's deputy Grady, who is grateful enough to come over to Buford's side. All this and we're only a little over a half hour into the movie so you get the idea by now. There's something going on in practically every frame.

Some people would try to read some kind of social commentary into this movie about law and order. Personally, I think that's kind of ridiculous. This is just a good guys versus the bad guys action movie, and taken on that level, pretty darn good at what it does.

The copy I just purchased is of very poor quality, not even a good VHS to DVD transfer. The price is reasonable, but still, would a decent transfer have really been that much more expensive to issue?