There’s more than one way to be Walking Tall

There are times in your life when, for reasons either vague or non-understandable- you just have to stand up for something and fight for what is right. Such is the story of Walking Tall, simple as it might sound. Believe me, though, there’s more to it…

Walking Tall is based on true events that happened in the early 1970’s, though what’s true or not is certainly debatable. Buford Pusser, a retired wrestler, returns along with his wife (Elizabeth Hartman) and children back to his home town of McNairy county. Pusser discovers, however, that his town has become corrupted by gambling, prostitution and illegal moon shining operations. Frustrated by the corrupted sheriff (Gene Evans), Pusser runs for and is elected sheriff. With a few hard lessons along the way, Pusser immediately begins cleaning things up, bringing new meaning to the phrase “Walk softly, and carry a big stick”.

There’s a lot of violence in Walking Tall, as would come naturally with a story such as this. The movie does not glorify violence, however. Characters are killed or hurt with realistic results, and there is obvious emotion or guilt as a result afterward (Take Pusser’s reaction after he has to shoot someone on Christmas Eve). Violence occurs in McNairy County on a regular basis, but nobody is happy about it, including those whom commit it.

The movie indeed explores the phrase ‘Walking Tall’, which applies to more then just Buford Pusser standing up to the entire county. Take for example Obra (Felton Perry): A black power crusader whom has to walk tall against prejudice- both put on him and from him- and to later enforce his duties as deputy. McNairy’s Sheriff Thurman used to walk tall, but only crawls now, as Pusser tells him. Grady the Deputy (Bruce Glover) is initially just a tool of Sheriff Thurman, but later becomes one of Buford’s most trusted allies. The town Judge, Judge Clark (Douglas Fowley), is initially one of Pusser’s greatest foes- undermining his arrests and raids on mere technicalities- but his put into his place by Pusser in one of the movie’s best scenes and comes to walk tall alongside him (Or at least not be a third wheel. Pusser makes another deputy crawl in the movie after finding out he betrayed Pusser. Finally, Pusser- though wounded- stands tall against the villains at the film’s climax, but he learns that he can’t get them all (At least in this movie; he had to wait for the sequel).

Joe Don Baker does well in the part as Buford Pusser. He isn’t a big name or as engaging a personality like The Rock (Whom starred in the not-well received 2004 remake, unseen by me), but the lack of having a big name does allow more focus to be put onto his character, rather then onto the actor. A couple of recognizable names or faces do show up, such as The Rockford Files’s Noah Berry Jr. as Grandpa Pusser and Kenneth Tobey (Twelve O’clock High and Billy Jack) as one of the managers of a crooked gambling house. Gene Evans is despicable as the crooked Sheriff Thurman like he’s supposed to be, but also has some quality about him to make him memorable enough and certainly humorous, particularly in his last scene in the movie. He isn’t the major villain facing Pusser, though: That honor goes to Rosemary Murphy as the owner of a brothel, whom organizes secret meetings to figure out ways to get rid of Pusser. Fowley’s reaction upon seeing how quickly Pusser has read and begun enforcing the criminal code book is hilarious. Perry portrays the character who grows the most, becoming one of the Buford’s closest friends. Brenda Bonet is sensual and flirty as a (implied) prostitute whom becomes a surprise ally of Pusser’s (No, not in that way). Ed Call appears in a very brief but memorable role as Pusser’s oldest friend, whom, by taking him down to have a drink and go gamble, initiates the eventual sequence of events.

Watching the movie for a second time, I noticed a few flaws, namely in the time line of events. Pusser goes from being shot to being at home to being in recovery in seemingly no time at all. I know that time did elapse in-between, but the amount of time is not made clear or at least stated in the movie. Of course, Walking Tall also requires some stretches of the imagination to allow you to enjoy it, as with any movie that has fighting in it (Though the fights in this movie are far more realistic then the martial arts choreography of today). And southerners and policemen will no doubt find much to be offended in the way both respective groups are depicted in this movie (And in the way that cops run business). If one lets themselves go, though, they will find an underrated, enjoyable action film and guilty pleasure with a theme or two in it to make it last a little longer.

Phil Karlson is not a talented director, but he knows how to keep pace and keep things going in a movie, which is all that matters. I am not sure how much of the script from Mort Briskin and Stephen Downing is accurate, but there are several memorable dialogue bits to be had (“You got a warrant?” “Yeah, I keep it in my shoe!”) Buford Pusser served as technical advisor, which probably contributed to some realism and authenticity in the look and feel department. His involvement in the production, though, led to the demise of his own law enforcement career: According to the IMDB, the film’s producers were not allowed to actually shoot in McNairy county- McNairy was embarrassed by negative national attention- so they shot in nearby Chester County. Pusser came to regret being technical advisor, for the citizens of McNairy felt betrayed by his involvement and voted him out in the next election (Then the McNairy County citizens were kicking themselves when the movie became a big box office hit).

The DVD includes a scene selection and that's it. It's also in full screen: I don't know if that was the intended aspect ratio (Nothing is said otherwise on IMDB, so it might have been).