Walking Tall...a great fact based movie

This was a dramatized movie on the factual events surrounding the career of Sheriff Buford Pusser. It is an excellent movie regarding the events that occurred in McNairy county in Tennessee in the mid 1960's. Most of what you see in the movie actually happened, however the timelines of events are not accurate. For Instance the movie version would have you believe that Buford ran for sheriff shortly after he was attacked and robbed by the Stateline Mob, when he actually sought the office some seven years later. Likewise, the movie overplays the use of his "big stick". Many events are accurate enough however, such as the attack where Pusser's wife is killed.

It would have been nice if they had told you in one of the sequels that Pusser learned who planned and executed this attack and that in real life, 4 of the 5 involved all met with untimely deaths of their own, possibly at the hands of Pusser himself. The fifth probably escaped a similar fate only because he was in state prison on a murder conviction, a place where even Buford could not get revenge.

In real life, Pusser was attacked and robbed by the state line mob when he first moved back to McNairy County. These wounds did indeed require 192 stitches. This attack occurred in 1957 and it was not until 1964 that Buford became sheriff.

As sheriff, Pusser survived several assassination attempts. He was shot 8 times and stabbed seven times. He did indeed shoot and kill two people in the line of duty. As for the moonshining that went on in McNairy county, Pusser actually destroyed 87 stills in 1965 alone !!! Pusser once had to defend himself in a fight against six men. He sent three of his attackers to the hospital and three to jail.

As for the scene in the movie where his wife is killed, the scene as I said earlier is fairly accurate. One of the first shots struck Pauline Pusser in the head. Buford did outrun his attackers, pulled his car off the road to tend to his wife, only to be located again and attacked a second time. Mrs Pusser was struck in the head again, and Buford was stuck in the face. Several operations were necessary to repair Pusser's shattered jaw. He was not able to attend his wife's funeral as shown in the movie.

In the movie, this attack was carried out with automatic weapons, probably to dramatize the event for maximum viewer effect. In reality, Pusser's car was struck by 11 rounds of 30 caliber ammunition, while 14 shell casings were located on the road way. While the movie may have dramatized the event, it was still a very violent attack.

Pusser, in real life served three consecutive terms as sheriff, the maximum according to Tenneesee state law. He was defeat not by another candidate, but by term limits.

While Pusser did succeed in running the Stateline Mob out of McNairy county, the mob is today alive, well and operating in Biloxi Mississippi.

After the first two Walking Tall movies were made, Pusser entered the sheriff's race seeking a fourth term. (Since had been out for a term he could run again). Amazingly he lost the election by a little over 900 votes. It seems that county officials had oppossed having the first two movies made in McNairy County. They were afraid the movies, because of their factual and violent nature would cast the county in a bad light. The county officals made it so difficult on the movie company that they choose an alternate location in which to make the film.

The citizens of an economically depressed McNairy County on the otherhand were upset that jobs were lost when the movie was made elsewhere and did not re-elect Pusser to a fourth term. They simply failed to realize that decisions regarding where the movies were made were in the hands of the Producer and the county officials and were not Pusser's to make.

Overall, WALKING TALL is an excellent movie. the acting is somewhat lacking and it is low budget. However, having stated that, the exploits and hardships of Sheriff Pusser may not have been given complete justice.