Walking Tall
Encyclopedia
Walking Tall is a 1973
semi-biopic of Sheriff
Buford Pusser
, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker
as Pusser. The film was directed by Phil Karlson
.
to start a logging business with his father, Carl Pusser. With a friend, he visits a gambling and prostitution establishment, the Lucky Spot, and is beaten up after catching them cheating at craps. Pusser is seriously injured with a knife and receives over 200 stitches. He complains to the sheriff but is ignored, and soon becomes aware of the rampant corruption in McNairy County. Pusser decides to clean up the county and runs for sheriff. Buford Pusser wins, and becomes famous for being incorruptible, intolerant of crime, and for his array of four foot hickory clubs which he uses to great effect in destroying clandestine gambling dens and illegal distilleries
, and even against criminals.
Some residents praise Buford Pusser as an honest cop in a crooked town; others denounce him as a bully willing to break some laws to uphold others.
Pusser is ambushed more than once, and finally he and Pauline are ambushed in their car. Pauline is killed, and Pusser is seriously injured, admitted to the hospital after being shot for the second time. Still in a neck and face cast, he rams a sheriff cruiser through the front doors of the Lucky Spot, killing two of the men who attacked him.
As he leaves with two deputies, the town arrives and throws the gambling tables and furniture into a pile in the parking lot and lights a bonfire, while Pusser wipes tears from his eyes.
(September 28, 1975), and Walking Tall: Final Chapter
( May 31,1977), both starring Bo Svenson
, were far less profitable. On December 9, 1978 CBS
aired "A Real American Hero", with Brian Dennehy
as Buford Pusser. Forrest Tucker reprised his role of Carl Pusser from "Walking Tall: Final Chapter". This 2-hour TV movie was originally titled "The Letter Of The Law". It was retitled "Hard Stick" for a VHS release in the 1980's. A short-lived 1981 television series Walking Tall
(again starring Svenson) further dramatized Pusser's life and career. The TV series began on January 17, 1981, and, after 7 one-hour segments, was last aired on March 31, 1981. The real Buford Pusser himself was killed in a car crash; his daughter, in another car behind him, found him in the ditch. He died upon impact or shortly afterwards, and the wreck remains a mystery.
In the movie, Pusser kills two characters, Callie Hacker, the female bar owner, and a fellow thug who tries to kill Pusser but winds up killing the family dog. In real life, Pusser did kill two individuals, Louise Hathcock and Charles Hamilton. Callie Hacker was loosely based on Louise Hathcock although Pusser actually killed her out of the presence of other witnesses (in the original movie, he kills her after she shoots at him across a bar) in a side room of the Shamrock Motel.
Pusser is shot at point blank range in one scene, supposedly by 'a couple of boys from Alabama' as one character says. Many years later W R Morris wrote a subsequent book in which he claimed Pusser was shot by his mistress, Pearl, after a quarrel (Morris: State Line Mob, 1990) although his arch nemesis, Towhead White, had in fact escaped from prison in Alabama during the same time frame. This new allegation was oddly missing from the original book about Pusser written by Morris (Morris, "The Twelfth of August", 1971) and came on the heels of a bitter loss in court by Morris preventing him from making films of his own about Pusser. It appeared that Morris may have added false claims about Pusser in the subsequent book in retaliation to the Pusser family for supporting the suit against him.
Obrah Eaker, played by Felton Perry
, was loosely based on Pusser's first black deputy, Dave Lipford.
The portrayal of his children contains a few inaccuracies as well. Leif Garrett
portrays Mike, an eight-year old at the beginning of the movie. Mike Vance was 13 years old when Pauline Pusser was killed, graduating from Adamsville High School in 1972.
Pusser's father was actually the Adamsville police chief when Buford first ran for election as sheriff.
According to a 1973 newspaper on the wall of the Pusser Museum, Buford said that the movie was 'sixty percent true.'
The original 1973 movie, which was released on February 22, 1973, was filmed in the summer of 1972 in West Tennessee
, close to but not in McNairy County. Town scenes were filmed in Henderson
, county seat of Chester County, 19 miles to the north of Selmer
, using Chester County locals as extras and in some minor roles. Scenes were also filmed in nearby Jackson
and in rural Madison County. The scene where Callie Hacker was killed was filmed in the Pine Ridge Club in Medon
, which is still in operation. The scene where the incumbent sheriff is killed when his auto runs off of a bridge was filmed on a rural road north of Milan
.
Southern newspaper columnist and humorist Lewis Grizzard
mentioned Walking Tall several times in his books, citing it as his favorite movie. According to Grizzard, he supported Walking Tall at an arts panel in New York City and was looked down on by the other panelists.
, a remake starring professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was made. Although it took many elements of Pusser's life and the original Walking Tall, many things were changed, such as Johnson's character's name (Chris Vaughn) and setting the film in semi-rural Kitsap County
, Washington, although it was filmed in Squamish
, B.C., Canada. Two sequels to the remake were produced, and released in 2007: Walking Tall: The Payback
and Walking Tall: Lone Justice
, both made in Dallas
, Texas
and released directly to DVD. These sequels starred Kevin Sorbo
as Nick Prescott, the son of the town's sheriff who takes the law into his hands when his father is killed in an alleged car accident.
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
semi-biopic of Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Buford Pusser
Buford Pusser
Buford Hayse Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee , from 1964 to 1970. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices on the Mississippi-Tennessee state-line. His story has directly inspired several books, songs, movies and at...
, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
as Pusser. The film was directed by Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s...
.
Plot
Pusser, at his wife Pauline's behest, retires from the professional wrestling ring and moves back to TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to start a logging business with his father, Carl Pusser. With a friend, he visits a gambling and prostitution establishment, the Lucky Spot, and is beaten up after catching them cheating at craps. Pusser is seriously injured with a knife and receives over 200 stitches. He complains to the sheriff but is ignored, and soon becomes aware of the rampant corruption in McNairy County. Pusser decides to clean up the county and runs for sheriff. Buford Pusser wins, and becomes famous for being incorruptible, intolerant of crime, and for his array of four foot hickory clubs which he uses to great effect in destroying clandestine gambling dens and illegal distilleries
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
, and even against criminals.
Some residents praise Buford Pusser as an honest cop in a crooked town; others denounce him as a bully willing to break some laws to uphold others.
Pusser is ambushed more than once, and finally he and Pauline are ambushed in their car. Pauline is killed, and Pusser is seriously injured, admitted to the hospital after being shot for the second time. Still in a neck and face cast, he rams a sheriff cruiser through the front doors of the Lucky Spot, killing two of the men who attacked him.
As he leaves with two deputies, the town arrives and throws the gambling tables and furniture into a pile in the parking lot and lights a bonfire, while Pusser wipes tears from his eyes.
Sequels
The original Walking Tall was a hit, but the sequels, Walking Tall Part 2Walking Tall Part 2
Walking Tall Part 2 is the sequel to the crime/action film, Walking Tall. Walking Tall Part 2 was directed by Earl Bellamy, and produced by Charles A. Pratt. the film starred Bo Svenson as Pusser, who replaced Joe Don Baker who played Pusser in the first Walking Tall film...
(September 28, 1975), and Walking Tall: Final Chapter
Walking Tall: Final Chapter
Walking Tall: Final Chapter is the third installment of the Walking Tall film series. The film was directed by Jack Starrett. The film opened in the U.S. on May 31, 1977. The on-screen title of the movie is "Final Chapter Walking Tall".-Plot:...
( May 31,1977), both starring Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:...
, were far less profitable. On December 9, 1978 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
aired "A Real American Hero", with Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
as Buford Pusser. Forrest Tucker reprised his role of Carl Pusser from "Walking Tall: Final Chapter". This 2-hour TV movie was originally titled "The Letter Of The Law". It was retitled "Hard Stick" for a VHS release in the 1980's. A short-lived 1981 television series Walking Tall
Walking Tall
Walking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
(again starring Svenson) further dramatized Pusser's life and career. The TV series began on January 17, 1981, and, after 7 one-hour segments, was last aired on March 31, 1981. The real Buford Pusser himself was killed in a car crash; his daughter, in another car behind him, found him in the ditch. He died upon impact or shortly afterwards, and the wreck remains a mystery.
Factual inaccuracies
A number of the best-known scenes in Walking Tall are fictional. For example, Pusser never went into a roadhouse with a stick and beat up everyone inside. He did, however, take two friends and beat the owner of the Plantation Club in 1961 (Morris:1971). In the first year and a half of his term, he did not carry a gun, depending on his size to get the job done. This was probably the period when the legend of the big stick was born. Buford never carried a club on a regular basis, but he often grabbed a fence post to smash whiskey stills and illegal saloons, and on at least one occasion he did use a club (fence post) to administer a little “frontier justice” on six thugs. This was probably the inspiration of the roadhouse scene. According to Paul Moore, former proprietor of Paul Moore's Tavern, he witnessed Pusser take on another half dozen trouble makers at his place, this time unarmed, sending three to jail and three to the hospital. The prior McNairy County sheriff, James Dickey, did not die trying to run over Pusser in a confrontation; he fell asleep while driving and died in a car crash less than one month before the 1964 election (Morris, "State Line Mob," 1990). However, this was controversial. Dickey was about to face a federal indictment on racketeering charges. It has been alleged by some that the Dixie Mafia, fearing he may rollover, was behind his death. Other rumors allege Dickey did have an encounter with Buford Pusser resulting in the accident that took his life. None of this was ever proven.In the movie, Pusser kills two characters, Callie Hacker, the female bar owner, and a fellow thug who tries to kill Pusser but winds up killing the family dog. In real life, Pusser did kill two individuals, Louise Hathcock and Charles Hamilton. Callie Hacker was loosely based on Louise Hathcock although Pusser actually killed her out of the presence of other witnesses (in the original movie, he kills her after she shoots at him across a bar) in a side room of the Shamrock Motel.
Pusser is shot at point blank range in one scene, supposedly by 'a couple of boys from Alabama' as one character says. Many years later W R Morris wrote a subsequent book in which he claimed Pusser was shot by his mistress, Pearl, after a quarrel (Morris: State Line Mob, 1990) although his arch nemesis, Towhead White, had in fact escaped from prison in Alabama during the same time frame. This new allegation was oddly missing from the original book about Pusser written by Morris (Morris, "The Twelfth of August", 1971) and came on the heels of a bitter loss in court by Morris preventing him from making films of his own about Pusser. It appeared that Morris may have added false claims about Pusser in the subsequent book in retaliation to the Pusser family for supporting the suit against him.
Obrah Eaker, played by Felton Perry
Felton Perry
Felton Perry is an American actor. He is known for his role as Inspector Early Smith in the 1973 movie Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry series. Felton's other well-known role is in the 1987 science fiction movie RoboCop as Donald Johnson, the executive at the corporation Omni...
, was loosely based on Pusser's first black deputy, Dave Lipford.
The portrayal of his children contains a few inaccuracies as well. Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
portrays Mike, an eight-year old at the beginning of the movie. Mike Vance was 13 years old when Pauline Pusser was killed, graduating from Adamsville High School in 1972.
Pusser's father was actually the Adamsville police chief when Buford first ran for election as sheriff.
According to a 1973 newspaper on the wall of the Pusser Museum, Buford said that the movie was 'sixty percent true.'
The original 1973 movie, which was released on February 22, 1973, was filmed in the summer of 1972 in West Tennessee
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the State of Tennessee. Of the three, it is the one that is most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River on the west and the Tennessee River on the east...
, close to but not in McNairy County. Town scenes were filmed in Henderson
Henderson, Tennessee
Henderson is an incorporated city in Chester County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,670 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County...
, county seat of Chester County, 19 miles to the north of Selmer
Selmer, Tennessee
Selmer is a town in McNairy County, Tennessee, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 4,541 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McNairy County...
, using Chester County locals as extras and in some minor roles. Scenes were also filmed in nearby Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
and in rural Madison County. The scene where Callie Hacker was killed was filmed in the Pine Ridge Club in Medon
Medon, Tennessee
Medon is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. It is included in the Jackson, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 191 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Medon is located at ....
, which is still in operation. The scene where the incumbent sheriff is killed when his auto runs off of a bridge was filmed on a rural road north of Milan
Milan, Tennessee
Milan is a city in Gibson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,851 at the 2010 census. The zip code assigned by the U.S. Postal Service is 38358. Residents of Milan are usually referred to as Milanites...
.
Southern newspaper columnist and humorist Lewis Grizzard
Lewis Grizzard
Lewis McDonald Grizzard, Jr. was an American writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South...
mentioned Walking Tall several times in his books, citing it as his favorite movie. According to Grizzard, he supported Walking Tall at an arts panel in New York City and was looked down on by the other panelists.
Remake
In 20042004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
, a remake starring professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was made. Although it took many elements of Pusser's life and the original Walking Tall, many things were changed, such as Johnson's character's name (Chris Vaughn) and setting the film in semi-rural Kitsap County
Kitsap County, Washington
Kitsap County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after Chief Kitsap of the Suquamish tribe. As of 2011 state estimate, its population was 253,900. Its county seat is at Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton....
, Washington, although it was filmed in Squamish
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...
, B.C., Canada. Two sequels to the remake were produced, and released in 2007: Walking Tall: The Payback
Walking Tall: The Payback
Walking Tall: The Payback is a 2007 action-thriller film directed by Tripp Reed and stars Kevin Sorbo and Haley Ramm.-Prelude:The direct-to-video sequel to 2004's Walking Tall , the main character's name is Nick Prescott, unlike the original's Buford Pusser or the remake's Chris Vaughn.-Plot:This...
and Walking Tall: Lone Justice
Walking Tall: Lone Justice
Walking Tall: Lone Justice is an action film and direct-to-video sequel to 2004's Walking Tall and Walking Tall: The Payback, the film was directed by Tripp Reed and stars Kevin Sorbo, Haley Ramm and Jennifer Sipes.-Plot:...
, both made in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and released directly to DVD. These sequels starred Kevin Sorbo
Kevin Sorbo
Kevin David Sorbo is an American actor best known for the roles of Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Captain Dylan Hunt in Andromeda and Kull in Kull the Conqueror.-Early life:...
as Nick Prescott, the son of the town's sheriff who takes the law into his hands when his father is killed in an alleged car accident.
Cast
- Joe Don BakerJoe Don BakerJoe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
as Buford PusserBuford PusserBuford Hayse Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee , from 1964 to 1970. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices on the Mississippi-Tennessee state-line. His story has directly inspired several books, songs, movies and at... - Elizabeth HartmanElizabeth HartmanMary Elizabeth Hartman was an American actress, best known for her performance in the 1965 film A Patch of Blue, playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress and was nominated for the Academy...
as Pauline Pusser - Lurene TuttleLurene TuttleLurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...
as Helen Pusser - Noah Beery, Jr.Noah Beery, Jr.Noah Lindsey Beery , known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting...
as Carl Pusser - Dawn LynDawn LynDawn Lyn is an American actress best known for her role as Dodie Douglas during the last three seasons of the long-running CBS family comedy My Three Sons.-Career:...
as Dwana Pusser - Leif GarrettLeif GarrettLeif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous in the late 1970s as a teen idol, but received much publicity in later life for his drug abuse and legal troubles.-Early life:...
as Mike Pusser - Felton PerryFelton PerryFelton Perry is an American actor. He is known for his role as Inspector Early Smith in the 1973 movie Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry series. Felton's other well-known role is in the 1987 science fiction movie RoboCop as Donald Johnson, the executive at the corporation Omni...
as Obrah Eaker - Rosemary MurphyRosemary MurphyRosemary Murphy is an American actress of stage, film, and television.Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat...
as Callie Hacker