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Remember Buford Pusser? He is the sheriff from Tennessee that fused the traits of John Wayne, Lester Maddox’s ax handle, and Estes Kefauver’s populism within the film ‘Walking Tall’. This film was viewed in the end by over 35 million people. I was not in town at the time so I did not watch it.
Nonetheless, duty calls, and during the weekend, I went to watch “Part Two of Walking Tall.” I am not sure what I was expecting, but I was surprised to find a well-crafted action picture with good performances and a nice sensibility for its characters. After enduring a summer of torture with the original Good Old Boys, during which the least bearable was Joe Don Baker as the original Buford Pusser in “Mitchell”, at long last, here is a film with people whose personalities and motivations actually seem plausible.
That is, of course, due to Bo Svenson, who took over his role after Buford Pusser who had recently signed up to play himself in his first movie ran his sports car off an embankment in a fit of uncontrolled enthusiasm(Joe Don Baker was presumably indisposed because he was shadow boxing his way through “Mitchell”) Svenson is a new 6-foot 5-inch tall (2.03 meter) actor who portrayed Robert Redford’s friend in “The Great Waldo Pepper,” and now, because he died in a burning airplane well, this time, the star doesn’t die until the epilog.
His contribution is the stubbornness of the ethics of the motion picture. Yes, there are explosions in “Part Two Walking Tall,” but it is not an exploitation film, and Pusser, as played by Svenson, appears to be rather sane. He is killing people to settle the scores over his wife’s death.
That is not to say that he does not sometimes get angry. After a contract racing driver attempts to murder him by baiting him into a chase after sabotaging Pusser’s front wheel, bastards like these get beaten down the worst. Armed with his beloved oak club, keen to avenge himself, Pusser wipes out the driver’s $12,000 road machine with ease, but for the most part, Pusser acts like a moderately sane, overly zealous, dirty cop. There is kind of a report with the deputies. There is nothing over the filmmakers’ heads around the county sheriff’s office; the easy informality and mutual respect that comes through without dialog.
The plot revolves around Pusser trying to track down the key player in the illegal alcohol trade who had put a bounty on his life. In this endeavor, he must first work his way through a myriad of bootleggers. It is evident that he suffers from deep obsessions which stem from the brutal murder of his wife, and his deputies do not hold back in sympathizing with his quest for vengeance. The story has typical elements such as car chases through woods, shootouts, and blockades, but the unique twist is how the movie portrays the modern-day south. The bootleggers are not the stereotypical hillbillies; rather, they are considered outlaw capitalists in an inter-state criminal syndicate.
As expected, Pusser does manage to win in the end. However, the unique part about the ending is that it leaves a door open for a sequel to be made. Towards the end of the movie, Pusser has vague information regarding the whereabouts of ‘Mr. Big’ but has not run the car crash scene. This leaves ambiguity for the first narration “Part Three: Walking Tall”, which I think we will soon hear about, given how the narrative itself is so central to the character.
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