The movie, set in 1967, is about the real-life sheriff Buford Pusser, who goes after a criminal who has killed young people with his illegal moonshine. Brian Dennehy plays Pusser. The rest of the cast include Ken Howard, Sheree North, Forrest Tucker, and Brian Kerwin. The film was originally entitled "The Letter of the Law" (which appears in the closing credits) and was released on VHS as "Hard Stick".