Justice sauvage

"Walking Tall" is certainly one of the most ass kicking movies ever made. It's a fictionalization of the true story of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, played here with conviction and intensity by Joe Don Baker. Buford has retired from life as a wrestler, hoping to settle down to a quiet life in his hometown, but he finds out that everything has gotten crooked, with local bigwigs running the show. Soon enraged at a system that does little to nothing to help the common man, he wages a personal war on corruption, using any method necessary. The movie does its job as far as manipulating its audience. It doesn't take long for viewers to get their blood lust up, and loudly cheer on our swaggering hero as he gives the assorted sleazy cretins their just desserts. And it doesn't hold back in the violence department, either; even if the blood is typically bright red movie blood that looks more like paint than anything, there's a lot of it that flows before the movie is over. And we can also definitely take interest in a story of a regular Joe who fumes at the injustices of the world, and refuses to live in a place where the big shots can have their way at any time. When Pusser puts a pompous, ineffective judge (Douglas Fowley) in his place, or humiliates a rat by having them crawl on all fours, it's not hard to pump one's fist in the air and yell, "YEAH!" All of the bad people are one dimensional, sleazy, selfish jerks; even though they may disagree with one another on methods used, they all look out for number one and enjoy their hold on the community. Provided one can take the brutality, and doesn't mind having their buttons pushed so obviously, "Walking Tall" is gripping. A superb cast really helps in the selling of the material, with Elizabeth Hartman as the troubled but loyal wife, Gene Evans as the ineffectual sheriff, Bruce Glover and Felton Perry as deputies, real-life siblings Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn as the Pusser children, Noah Beery Jr. and Lurene Tuttle as Buford's folks, Rosemary Murphy as trouble making Callie Hacker, and assorted other character players such as Arch Johnson, Don Keefer, Sam Laws, Kenneth Tobey, Pepper Martin, Red West, Logan Ramsey, Richard X. Slattery, Sidney Clute, and John Myhers. Now, granted, all of what happens is plenty predictable, but it's hard to deny how this could become a crowd pleasing entertainment on a non-think level. And Buford's story didn't end here, with two sequels, a TV movie, a short lived series, and a loose remake & subsequent sequels to follow, just going to show how enduring the concept of a strong, principled man fighting for what's right can be. Seven out of 10.

Some rather unscrupulous Dixie gangsters wanted this man out of the way real bad. In his real life town of Adamsville, Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser made a career out of busting the various clip joints that infested his areas. Those that ran them did all they could to kill him. After the action in this film was portrayed they kind of got their wish and Buford Pusser was killed in a car crash that some still label suspicious.

Pusser was a big guy in real life and a big guy in Joe Don Baker was hired to play him. On screen Baker really gets into his character so much so that could be the real Pusser you see on screen. Before going into law enforcement Pusser was a professional wrestler in the southern circuit known as Buford the Bull. As the man was attacked several times including one shooting no doubt his superb athletic conditioning saved his life.

Elizabeth Hartman portrays his wife and mother of his two children, one of them played soon future teen bubblegum idol Leif Garrett. A few familiar faces dot the supporting cast. One portrayal you won't forget is Rosemary Murphy owner of one of the clip joints who hustles women and gambling and she develops a real hatred for Baker. She sizzles on the screen.

On the screen and in real life Pusser was not a stickler for civil liberties niceties. He did what he had to do to root out corruption in his small corner of the world. In another century like the one we're in now, Buford Pusser would have the status of a Wild Bill Hickok or Wyatt Earp. Both of whom didn't mind gambling interests but kept the cheating to a minimum.

To some, an American hero.

Remember seeing this film when it first hit the theatres in 1973...had some hype in the local newspapers and TV ads and was ballyhooed a lot like "The Exorcist" the same year. This film does not disappoint. If you like underdog films and the bad guys getting their a's kicked you will love this movie. Joe Don Baker, a bit actor at the time puts in slam dunk performance as the tough tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser who is a southern dirty harry type cop. Some fans might remember Baker as one of the prisoners in Paul Newman's "Cool Hand Luke". Story centers around Pusser returning home after a long sabbatical as a pro wrestler to find corruption running amok. After getting sliced and diced at a corrupt card table in the local septic tank bar and left for dead on the side of the road Pusser gets angry enough to make a run for sheriff....after winning the surprise election Pusser has to recruit some honest deputies - a rather hard task in that small corrupt town - and proceeds to try and weed out the gangsters and prostitutes running amok in the town. After running the corrupt judge into the basement of the local court house Pusser has to stop the moonshining operation run by the mob also. Along the way he literally castrates a corrupt deputy who is a mob informer. His preferred weapon is not a pistol but a big round wooden "stick" if you will he uses to bang up and batter down all criminals with. Gets to be sort of fun waiting for the next scumbag Pusser will pound down with that big wooden stick......scene of Pusser and his wife getting ambushed by the mob is very graphic and humbling...several people getting very teary eyed in the theatre the first time I saw this film. Scenes of Pusser and his children walking in funeral procession for his wife get to your emotions in a warm and tender way. Plenty of action, and the bad guys get mowed down in the end by Pusser. Almost like a carbon copy of the original Dirty Harry film the same year with Clint Eastwood mowing down the criminals. Poor cinematography and film editing the only downer for this film. Why does the viewer have to see part of a microphone hanging down from a bedroom?? Don't bother with the sequels without Baker as sheriff Pusser. Bo Svenson poor substitute after you have seen Baker as Pusser. Great overall action film - can be quite graphic. Not for young kids to see.

One great movie! Joe Don Baker does a great job portraying Buford Pusser. This movies deals with a man that has just givin up pro wrestlng because he is sick and tired of being controlled by someone else. He returns home to Tennessee, and finds the same thing going on. His mother warns him to ignore it, but by accident, he finds out the hard way how these people operate. His battle is an uphill one. First, he is jailed for robbing the local bar. He acts as his own defense at the trial and wins. Then the local sheriff tries to kill him, and is killed himself. Once Pusser is elected sheriff, the fight really begins. He eventually cleans out the graft and corruption in McNairy County, and then he is ambushed, and his wife is tragically killed. Pusser finally has one last showdown with the people at the Lucky Spot. I would like to have seen Joe Don Baker do the other two movies. This movie is a real tear jerker at the end.

The fact that the remake of this classic is opening in a few days persuaded me to review the original Joe Don Baker ass-kicker of a movie. Baker will always be in my mind as Buford Pusser, a man who chooses to walk tall no matter what the consequences that may befall. After retiring from wrestling, he returns home with his wife, Elizabeth Hartman (Edwina in Clint Eastwood's strangest film "the Beguiled), and children, Dawn Lyn and Leif Garret (heh) in tow, only to find corruption. Luckily Buford carries a BIG stick and knows how to swing it. At a tad over two hours, this film is almost 2 times the film that the remake is time-wise, but a million times better than it entertainment and story-wise. A tad dated, but it still holds up pretty well

My Grade: A