Screenwriters generally have to dream up material, but in the case of Buford Pusser, it came to them served on a silver platter. As portrayed in several films, including the 2004 Dwayne Johnson reboot, Sheriff Buford Pusser became a byword for tough, incorruptible justice, a lawman tackling a crime ring in his corrupt Tennessee home county. Close at hand, a club, just in case any criminal got confused that he meant business. Launching a bloody crusade against the so-called Dixie Mafia, the pursuit of justice earned him respect but cost him his family.

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