Related Events
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series presents Walking Tall at Crosstown Theater.
Phil Karlson / 1973 / 125 minutes / Rated R
Tickets: $5 at the door
Films begin at 7:30 pm (sharp!)
Crosstown Arts tried this before back in series 6, but we got pandemic-ed before we could actually screen it, so we are trying again! The legend(s) surrounding Buford Pusser loom large over both Memphis and McNairy County, where he was sheriff from 1964 to 1970. Buford was a professional wrestler who became a sheriff in an area overrun by the Dixie Mafia. He went to war with and killed Louise Hathcock, the operator of The Shamrock Motel, where the Babushka lady was supposedly seen hanging out a week or so before JFK got popped.
Buford’s star really started to shine when his friend, country and rockabilly singer Eddie Bond, started singing about him. One story has it that when Buford got ambushed by the Dixie Mafia (and his wife was killed and his face was shot off), he hid out in Memphis at a nightclub on Madison that Eddie Bond owned with “The Fabulous One,” Jackie Fargo. Buford’s legend and story was interesting enough that they made THREE movies about him and the first is Walking Tall. Walking Tall fictionalizes Buford’s journey from bear wrestler to one man crime crusader. The movie stars character actor Jo Don Baker (Joysticks, Fletch) as Buford Pusser and Elizabeth Hartman (A Patch of Blue, The Secret of NIMH) as his wife Pauline. Lief Garrett (Macon Count Line, Walking Tall Part II, Final Chapter: Walking Tall, Tiger Beat Cover Model) and Lief’s real-life sister Dawn Lyn as the Pusser kids!! Walking Tall is BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN IN MEMPHIS FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!! YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO SEE IT!!!!
The Crosstown Arthouse Film Series showcases a diverse collection of independent, international, historically significant, artistic, experimental, cult, underground and documentary features.
