Ex-wrestler and Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser walks tall and carries a big stick as he tussles with county-wide corruption and moonshining thugs.
Acting
Joe Don Baker's wall of earnest fury—never winks at the material.
Practical Effects
That wooden club? Real. The injuries? Method chaos before it had a name.
Director
Phil Karlson
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
Felton Perry
Obra Eaker
Richard X. Slattery
Arno Purdy
Rosemary Murphy
Callie Hacker
Lynn Borden
Margie Ann
Sidney Clute
Sheldon Levine
Douglas Fowley
Judge Clarke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Buford Pusser himself served as technical advisor and appeared in the sequel—he died in a suspicious car crash before the third film.
This launched a brief 'vigilante sheriff' boom and directly influenced 'The Dukes of Hazzard'—Boss Hogg is essentially Buford's enemies made family-friendly.
US
