Tension at Table Rock (1956)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Tension at Table Rock is directed by Charles Marquis Warren and is adapted to screenplay by Winston Miller from the novel "Bitter Sage" written by Frank Gruber. It stars Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, Cameron Mitchell, Billy Chapin, Royal Dano, Edward Andrews and John Dehner. Music is by Dimitri Tiomkin and Technicolor cinematography is by Joseph Biroc.Wes Tancred (Egan) is a weary gunslinger who is wandering the plains after having been accused of a cowardly killing. Assuming the name of John Bailey, he happens upon the "Bitter Sage" ranch and events there will lead him into the town of Table Rock. Where his future, perhaps damned by his past, will be determined.A good Oater full of the staples of 50s genre pieces, tension at Table Rock is nonetheless a worthy morsel for those keen of a Western diet. Pic picks up a number of thematic threads, such as the gunman trying to go straight, a lawman who has lost his bottle, and hero worship by way of surrogacy. Naturally there's a romantic angle, with Malone all bright eyed and perched in between Egan and Mitchell, but this is thankfully not over played.Standard action scenes are handled well by Warren, a man who knew his way around dusters of TV and cinema. Costuming and scenic photography is pleasing, while Egan (tortured square jawed machismo), Mitchell (tortured and scarred and awaiting machismo rebirth) and Dano (eleagant wise man) are in good credit with performances. Best of the support is Dehner, no surprise there, and Angie Dickinson and DeForest Kelly have minor but key roles to play.It's all tightly played out to the point that the derivative nature of the story is in no way a hindrance to the entertainment on offer. 7/10

Tension At Table Rock casts Richard Egan as a misunderstood gunman who gets a phony reputation as a backshooting coward because he outdrew the wanted Paul Richards and Richard's girlfriend Angie Dickinson who was the only witness told a false tale.Now having to operate under an assumed name, Egan falls in with orphan Billy Chapin after he eliminates those who killed Chapin's father Joe DeSantis and made him an orphan. He delivers young Billy to the town of Table Rock where his aunt and uncle live and uncle Cameron Mitchell is a much put upon sheriff.After this the film does run along the established plot lines of Shane somewhat. Mitchell makes a Faustian bargain with trail boss John Dehner to not tear up the town too much mainly because he got beaten really badly by a whole bunch of Dehner's trailhands on the previous drive. But when one of them shoots down an unarmed farmer and then tries to get away with it Egan gets into action.Dorothy Malone is in Tension At Table Rock as well. 1956 was the same year Malone got her career Oscar winning role for Written On The Wind. The sexual tension between the stranger Egan and her is unmistakable and it's where people draw comparisons between Tension At Table Rock and Shane.Though she's on only briefly in the beginning Angie Dickinson really does shine in the part of a woman who gets vengeance for her man. Another really good performance is that of Edward Andrews the saloon owner who could care less if the drunken trailhands shoot up the town and kill a few people as long as they drink in his saloon and his profits don't get cut into.Towards the end of that studio's existence RKO was getting into some serious adult B westerns as was its competitor Republic, the stuff that would later be a staple for fifties and sixties television. Tension At Table Rock is a good example of the adult type westerns that would later be found on television.

This western has an interesting story, probably inspired in the famous song about Jesse James where the killer of Jesse is referred to as "the dirty little coward that killed Mr. Howard". Here Wes Tancred (Richard Egan) kills a famous outlaw in self defense but the story that comes out is that he shot him on the back and a ballad telling this version becomes famous. Tancred has to change his name and he ends up in a town where there is a scared sheriff (Cameron Mitchell) and his wife (Dorothy Malone). Mitchell only stays on the job because he needs the money but his big problem is when a group of cowboys come to town, which is very good for the saloon owner but a nightmare for the rest of the town. What goes wrong in this film is the casting of Richard Egan. Egan is a competent actor, but it is not easy to play a western hero. The best example of that is in the meeting of Egan with DeForest Kelley. Kelley is excellent as the gunfighter and Egan has a poor body image compared to him. In spite of that, this is an interesting, entertaining, forgotten western that should be released on DVD.

Not to be confused with "Bad Day At Black Rock", but just about as good especially considering it was made when RKO was really struggling. It's deliberately paced and quite absorbing with fine performances from Richard Egan (a lumbering, mostly humorless actor who nevertheless had dramatic weight) as a guilt-ridden gunman, and Cameron Mitchell as a physically and emotionally scarred sheriff who wrestles with his cowardice. (I'd even go so far as saying Mitchell gives a great performance - he does some real interesting things with the character.) The highlights for me were the courtroom scene, where Egan gives a moving little speech on how a man is through when he deceives himself (it's a real turning point for both characters) and a showdown at the end that plays out in an understated but completely satisfying way. I also liked the psychological intimidation tactic of the cattle drivers mimicking in unison the footsteps of various townspeople as they walk along. The one real flaw would have to be the way the same cattle drivers are so antagonistic towards the folks in town. Rowdy and reckless, sure, but their hostility seems unmotivated and certainly counter-intuitive.