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Walking Tall

Play trailer Poster for Walking Tall R 1973 2h 5m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser carries a big stick after thugs beat him up and kill his wife.
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Walking Tall

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/21/2023
It is solemnly, unself-conciously square -- a celebration of the same virtues that the Westerns always stood for, but unlike those Westersn, not distances. Those westers weren't rabble-rousing, Walking Tall is. Go to Full Review
Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness 05/04/2005
C+
A hopelessly melodramatic revenge fantasy. Go to Full Review
Walter Chaw Film Freak Central 09/26/2012
3/4
its broad strokes leave no room for anything so pussified or liberal as a moral compass Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Seanax.com 05/19/2012
... the film was a sensation, becoming a big hit and spawning a whole industry of southern-fried vigilante lawman action pictures. Go to Full Review
Kam Williams Princeton Town Topics 04/25/2007
3/4
A new, and arguably improved, Walking Tall, starring pro wrestler-turned-actor, The Rock. Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 10/04/2005
4/5
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Audience Reviews

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CodyZamboni Z @CodyZamboni Jan 2 This gripping movie pushes all the right emotional buttons, As Joe Don Baker takes on small town corruption, no matter how many times he's shot, beat up, arrested. Filled with brutal hard hitting violence, loathsome villains, and small town authenticity, And a commanding performance by Joe Don Baker, See more Katherine T Jul 25 You definitely can't beat Joe Don Baker in a role he was born to play. The true story of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a retired Marine and wrestler who came home to Tennessee in the early 1960s. The level of lawlessness in the town in which he grew up hurt him so much that, to protect the community and his wife and children, he ran for Sheriff and did a huge amount of good, swinging a hickory staff instead of a gun most of the time. This made him many, many friends, and just as many enemies, which would come to haunt him as time went on. Baker goes deep into the character of Pusser, imbuing him with a heart as big as the state of Tennessee. The cast, full of familiar faces, is just fine, and many of them come back in parts two and three, although Baker did not. Highly recommended. See more Doug D @dougduse 11/16/2024 I thought you walked tall but it looks like you learned how to crawl See more NiB Y 09/03/2024 A great biopic about a great person. Raw, gritty, violent and most important of all: realistic. though the pacing definetely feels off here and there See more 02/23/2024 A young Joe Don Baker takes justice into his own hands when the system completely fails directed by Phil Karlson Based on the true story he plays a former wrestler-turned-Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser during the 1960s He carries a big stick after thugs beat him up and kill his wife Now it's all about cleaning up the small town of Selmer filled with crime and corruption Everyone on the police force to the gangs at the poker club have filthy hands This movie has the theme of one man standing up for his sense of right and wrong Lone wolves are easy prey, there's strength in unity, is there such a thing as true justice?, there's a fine between an honest judge and a dishonest man, we can stand together and join hand in hand Baker is solid as this newly elected sheriff battling an entire town that disagrees with his ideals The car chases are thrilling as are the gun fights Some residents praise Pusser as an honest cop in a crooked town; others denounce him as a bully willing to break some laws to uphold others The ending is quite saddening too This is a portrayal of a real-life Southerner brought to the screen in a heroic role in a straight-from-the-shoulder movie that doesn’t attempt to flay the South with traditional movie stereotype See more Michael S @mstrocko 09/06/2023 Sweaty, gritty, and violent - which gives it an unsettling edge. See more Read all reviews
Walking Tall

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Walking Tall

Walking Tall: Official Clip - Chased by the Sheriff Walking Tall: Official Clip - Chased by the Sheriff 1:59 Walking Tall: Official Clip - We'll Get the Rest of Them Buford! Walking Tall: Official Clip - We'll Get the Rest of Them Buford! 1:58 Walking Tall: Official Clip - 3,630 Dollars You Owe Me Walking Tall: Official Clip - 3,630 Dollars You Owe Me 2:06 Walking Tall: Official Clip - Crashing The Lucky Spot Walking Tall: Official Clip - Crashing The Lucky Spot 1:59 Walking Tall: Official Clip - Road Ambush Walking Tall: Official Clip - Road Ambush 1:42 Walking Tall: Official Clip - Buford Catches A Cheater Walking Tall: Official Clip - Buford Catches A Cheater 2:07 Walking Tall: Official Clip - I Thought You Walked Tall! Walking Tall: Official Clip - I Thought You Walked Tall! 1:48 Walking Tall: Official Clip - Traitor Walking Tall: Official Clip - Traitor 2:11 Walking Tall: Official Clip - The Verdict Walking Tall: Official Clip - The Verdict 1:48 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser carries a big stick after thugs beat him up and kill his wife.
Director
Phil Karlson
Producer
Mort Briskin
Screenwriter
Mort Briskin, Stephen Downing
Distributor
Cinerama Releasing Corporation [us], Vestron Video, Rhino Entertainment Company [us]
Production Co
Bing Crosby Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 22, 1973, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 5, 2017
Runtime
2h 5m
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