ClassyWas
Excellent, smart action film.
Brennan Camacho
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
kevin olzak
1956's "Tension at Table Rock" was one of the last gasps for ailing studio RKO, soon to become Desilu under the new ownership of Lucy and Desi. Truly enhanced by its color photography, telling a Frank Gerber story that seemed mighty familiar to 50s audiences, but done so well by such an expert cast that the many episodic pieces just seem to effortlessly fall into place. Richard Egan is well cast as laconic gunman Wes Tancred, whose troubles begin when he rebuffs the advances of the wife (Angie Dickinson) of his best friend and former boss (Paul Richards), who tries to shoot Wes in the back, but is slower on the draw (a clear act of self defense, pardoned by the Governor). The woman scorned makes out that her husband was shot in the back and didn't have a chance, with the stain following Wes from town to town, even to a song depicting the lurid, and phony, details, so he must take up a new name by the time he enters the lives of Sheriff Fred Miller (Cameron Mitchell), his wife Lorna (Dorothy Malone), and adoring nephew Jody (Billy Chapin), echoes of "Shane" that need not have been present. Among the townspeople are smooth villain Edward Andrews and crusading newspaperman Royal Dano, who fears the upcoming cattle drive, and the vicious trail herders that come with it (led by John Dehner). No one knows the newcomer's true identity of Wes Tancred, and the final showdown with hired killer DeForest Kelley finds him already friends with Wes, and one of the few who know the truth about what really happened (as if their dead boss was supposed to be 'Santa Claus'). Cameron Mitchell probably has the toughest role, playing a sheriff who commands little respect because he seeks an easy way out instead of a real solution, due to a beating he once took that left him full of fear (reuniting with Royal Dano just two years later in "Face of Fire"). Richard Egan, from Presley's forthcoming debut "Love Me Tender," never reached true stardom but here enjoys his finest showcase.
DKosty123
This is a movie with a solid script, really a very good cast, and a decent script. It is a later RKO production completed a short time before Lucy & Desi bought the studio. It is one of a handful of films of this type shot in color during the 1950's.Any fan of the Wild Wild West TV series will recognize John Dehner and some of the set sued in this movie. Angie Dickinson has a small role. When you add up Richard Egan, Cameron Mitchell, Edward Andrews, Billy Chapin, Dorothy Malone, and DeForest Kelly, the cast is a who's who of 1960's and 70's television actors.It is a good solid western outing that only suffers slightly from the fact that RKO did not have the resources of the other studios by now. Still, some of these folks went on to stay at Desilu later and help make that a great television studio.
wes-connors
Needing a break from his gunfighter western ways, rugged Richard Egan (as Wes Tancred) decides to take on a tamer identity (as "John Bailey"). In this guise, Mr. Egan finds honest work, but immediate tragedy. He hooks up with blue-eyed Billy Chapin (as Jody Burrows), after gunmen kill the cute boy's paw. Delivering the lad to relatives, sharply outfitted Dorothy Malone (as Lorna) and sheriff husband Cameron Mitchell (as Fred Miller), leads "Rifleman" Egan from "Shane" to "High Noon" territory. Angie Dickinson and DeForest Kelly have bang-up roles. With Charles Marque Warren at the reigns, "Tension at Table Rock" knows its turf.****** Tension at Table Rock (10/3/56) Charles Marque Warren ~ Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, Cameron Mitchell, Billy Chapin
nigel-hawkes
This superb '50s western is what I term a "minor masterpiece". By that I do not mean that it is inferior, rather that its "B" status will inevitably always relegate it to side discussions when the "big" westerns are brought up. But a very convincing argument can be made that this, and many other '50s "B" westerns-including in my view almost all of the Audie Murphy ones-are the absolute pinnacle of the genre.Other reviewers have given good accounts of the plot so I will instead mention: the marvellous cast (DeForrest Kelly was underused as a westerner-marvel at his performance); the tension that I think is due to the modest running time and the quick, simple scenes that just flow so naturally; great, bright colour (I loathe the dark modern movies); a second-to-none score from an age when there were great film composers; all the essential elements are here-the boy, the tortured hero, believable domestic tensions, the baddies-you just care about these characters.Every time this appears on British TV I seem to watch it afresh and discover more subtleties.Minor masterpieces are not that much more common than major ones. Do not miss this movie.
