Walking Tall

"The measure of a man is how tall he walks."

1973 2h 5m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 151🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 7,688

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ex-wrestler and Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser walks tall and carries a big stick as he tussles with county-wide corruption and moonshining thugs.

“The measure of a man is how tall he walks.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Joe Don Baker
Buford Pusser
Elizabeth Hartman
Pauline
Gene Evans
Sheriff Al Thurman
Noah Beery Jr.
Carl Pusser
Brenda Benet
Luan Paxton
John Brascia
Prentiss Parley
Bruce Glover
Grady Coker
Arch Johnson
Buel Jaggers

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phil Karlson
Writers: Mort Briskin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $40M — a 80.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Walking Tall Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Jack A. Marta. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Walter Scharf. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harry Gerstad shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Hartman and Gene Evans carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phil Karlson directs. Jack A. Marta behind the camera. Walter Scharf scores. Harry Gerstad cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $40M — a 80.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Walking Tall Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Phil Karlson, shot by Jack A. Marta. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Walter Scharf. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Harry Gerstad shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Hartman and Gene Evans carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The measure of a man is how tall he walks.".
10IMDB entry: tt0070895 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 20 themes, including "small town", "martial arts", "sheriff", "corruption".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Original score: Walter Scharf
Editing: Harry Gerstad
Production design: Stan Jolley
Costume design: Phyllis Garr
Makeup / hair: Virginia Jones
Sound: David Dockendorf
Stunt coordinator: Carey Loftin
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $500,000
Box office: $40,000,000
Return: 8000% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Walking Tall (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 7,688 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

Walking Tall Collection

Walking Tall is a 1973 American action semi-biopic film of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser. The film was directed by Phil Karlson. Based on Pusser's true story, it was a combination of very loosely based fact and Hollywood revisionism. The original Walking Tall was a hit, but the sequels, Walking Tall Part 2 (September 28, 1975), and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (August 10, 1977), both starring Bo Svenson, were far less profitable.