A surprise hit when it premiered, Walking Tall carried the theme of one man standing up for his sense of right and wrong. Selmer, a small town in southwest Tennessee, served as the authentic background for the bio-pic of the heroic southern Sheriff. Joe Don Baker did an admirable job with the role, and the hugely violent film was a surprise hit. Former Sheriff Pusser himself was set to portray himself in the sequel, but he died in a car crash as he as returning from his contract signing in California. The sequel was filmed using Swedish actor Bo Svensen, and a Final Chapter sequel told of Pusser's demise. While the Walking Tall franchise will never be on any list of Classic Film, the original is a great slice of Americana, Circa '70s. It made Bakers' career and perhaps kicked the 'southsploitation' genre of that decade into gear.
Walking Tall
Based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who 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.
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