Tension at Table Rock (1956)

A reluctant gunslinger tires of having to defend himself at every cow town he visits, so he adopts an alias and continues his wandering. At an outpost run by a father and young son, he gets... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Marquis Warren

Writers:

Winston Miller (screenplay), Frank Gruber (novel)

Stars:

Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, Cameron Mitchell

Cast

Cast overview:
Richard Egan	...	Wes Tancred
Dorothy Malone	...	Lorna Miller
Cameron Mitchell	...	Sheriff Fred Miller
Billy Chapin	...	Jody Burrows
Royal Dano	...	Harry Jameson
Edward Andrews	...	Kirk
John Dehner	...	Hampton
DeForest Kelley	...	Jim Breck
Joe De Santis	...	Ed Burrows (as Joe DeSantis)
Angie Dickinson	...	Cathy
Paul Richards	...	Sam Murdock

Storyline

A reluctant gunslinger tires of having to defend himself at every cow town he visits, so he adopts an alias and continues his wandering. At an outpost run by a father and young son, he gets involved with a robbery in progress, and agrees to take the son to the boy's uncle, a sheriff in Table Rock, for his safety. Once there he finds the town gearing up for the arrival of a cattle drive and the unruly cowboys. He strives to remain uninvolved as the sheriff tries to get his help with the cowboys, but the sheriff nurses bad memories from an earlier incident that may threaten his effectiveness.

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Plot Keywords:

long brown hair | street shootout | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blut an meinen Händen

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

ageing bar girl: What's the matter, nobody want to play with you?
Wes Tancred: Leave it alone, I'm not a trail hand.
ageing bar girl: It's OK, I've got time.
Wes Tancred: No you haven't.

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Soundtracks

"The Ballad of Wes Tancred"
Music by Josef Myrow
Lyrics by Robert Wells
Sung by Eddy Arnold

User Reviews

Telling A False Tale

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.