A real-life "Death Wish"

Death Wish was fiction and Charles Bronson was a popular hero for wandering around snuffing the bady guys. Another, even more popular fiction hero was the character of Billy Jack. Both of these movie characters inspired sequels and, in the case of Charles Bronson, a couple of clones with different heroes.

The difference with Walking Tall is that the movie is loosely based on fact. I say 'loosely' because that is exactly what it is, even though they had the real life hero on the payroll as their "technical advisor." That real life hero was Sheriff Buford Pusser and he was automatically dangerous. Think about it. A name that invited ridicule on a hefty and muscular 6'5" body.

Actually, he was a pretty nice guy (most of the time) and pleasant to talk to. My first wife's family knew him while all of this was going on, so I know whereof I speak.

Buford started out running for Sheriff of his county because the incumbent was ineffectual, crooked and graft-ridden who was doing nothing to promote the safety and well being of the very people who had elected him. He thought, because he had crime money behind him, he couldn't be beaten, but Buford was a man of the people and stumped the county as vigorously as Huey Long stumped Louisiana. He told the people what they wanted to hear, and he was elected. That's when the trouble started.

In those days most of the deep South (Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Kentucky) were run by various crime groups. Names of hot spots were constantly in the news -- Biloxi, Phenix City, Huntsville, and dozens more. Buford took his election seriously, and he took his election promises seriously as well. When he started fighting the crime lords of his county, they fought back.

This much is fact, and is documented by the local newspapers. Buford had limited success with shutting crime down, and crime had limited success in shutting Buford down. Buford became the target of repeated attacks by both the organized crime lords and by individuals whose income was jeopardized by effective law enforcement. Now, Hollywood takes over the story.

The script writers edited out the minor attacks, feeling that there were really too many of them to be believed by the average movie-goer. The major attacks were dramatized more heavily to make them more impactful in the theaters. It worked. Their choice of actor to portray Buford was sheer genius. They enlisted an unknown by the name of Joe Don Baker, who approximated (but not fully) Buford's size and substance. When equipped with Buford's choice of weapon (a 2" dia. club in the movie, a 4" dia. fencepost in Buford's ham-like hands) Joe Don became a threat to reckon with for sure.

They cast Elizabeth Hartman in the wistful role of Buford's timidly long-suffering wife, and Noah Beery as his father. All in all, it was just low-budget/unknown enough to be extremely effective. Buford himself, in the capacity of Technical Advisor, made sure that the major elements of his experience remained in the story. The most difficult element was actually the event that turned public opinion completely in Buford's favor. That was the final attack in which the crime element killed Buford's first wife and nearly killed him.

Up until then, Buford's vigilante tactics drew only partial support and a large amount of resentment for the associated problems it caused. The brutal death of a defenseless woman, however, turned the tide -- for the time being.

The movie is engrossing, and despite the occasionally amateurish acting, will capture your imagination by virtue of its "cinema verite" quality. You can legitimately thrill as Buford (Joe Don Baker) chastises the bad guys with his massive club. You can cringe in helpless anger as the bad guys gang up to beat and shoot Buford, and cheer when it doesn't keep him from carrying out his campaign promises!

All in all, Buford Pusser was his own man and didn't try to conceal anything about his convictions. He did what he felt was needed, whether entirely legal or not, and took responsibility for what he did. The movie is probably 70% accurate, and that should be enough to leave you cheering for Buford no matter what. In my rating, I'm not rating either the acting or the cinematography. I'm rating the story, and -- yes, I admit it -- the man who made the story possible.

If you're not going to nit pick about the picture quality, or the lack of budget, or the melodramatic acting, and can just surrender to the story and enjoy it, this is a movie you will love. It isn't quite up to Billy Jack, but the emotions it stirs when good triumphs over evil are exactly the same. Go ahead, pop a bowl of popcorn and settle back to enjoy this movie. And, remember, it's really mostly true!!!