Walking Tall (1973)

Directed by

Phil Karlson

Genre

drama film, biographical film, action film, crime film, vigilante film, thriller film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 41m

Rated

R

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 144 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A former professional wrestler becomes the sheriff of his Tennessee county. He wages a one-man war against local corruption and organized crime.

grittydeterminedtenseconfrontationalsomberpulsingsternno-frills

What happens

Walking Tall is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical vigilante action film based on Buford Pusser's story of his life as a professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee, played by Joe Don Baker. The film was directed by Phil Karlson. It has become a cult film with two direct sequels of its own, a TV movie, a brief TV series and a remake that had its own two sequels. In August 2025, contrary to the story as depicted in the film, Buford Pusser was implicated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the 1967 murder of his wife Pauline. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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