Tension at Table Rock (1956)

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

RICHARD EGAN is the gunman who has killed his best friend and must live with the consequences of a town that has turned against him with a legendary song (by Dimitri Tiomkin) that paints him as a coward. He flees to another town and assumes a new identity, but his past catches up with him before the tale is over.As the scorned outlaw who decides to help weak-minded sheriff CAMERON MITCHELL keep order in a tough "Dodge City" sort of town, Egan is solidly cast as the sturdy anti-hero who rises to the occasion whenever gunfights break out. He wins the admiration of Mitchell's pretty wife, DOROTHY MALONE and their young son, BILLY CHAPIN (from "Night of the Hunter"). Therein, the story bears elements of "Shane" and other similar westerns.Egan's quiet underplaying of the conflicted gunman is effective and most of the performances are fine. Dorothy Malone looks out of place as a frontier lady, her make-up and costuming making her look like a modern 1950s woman rather than the good wife she was portraying.The dialogue is full of the usual western clichés. A line at the end of the film, after law and order has finally been restored by Egan, is a summary of the plot's conclusion. "These boys just got their town back," drawls one of the townsmen. And in time for the final reel, the sheriff gets his courage back too.

Frank Gruber's novel "Bitter Sage" becomes highly-engrossing western from R.K.O. Richard Egan (amusingly expressionless, and cutting a mighty figure in his cowboy garb) plays a gunslinger whose best friend turns on him, ending with the friend shot dead; hoping to escape his reputation as a coward, Egan's Wes Tancred first goes to stay with a lonesome rancher and his son (ending in a rather unfair violent episode), later winding up in a town under the fear-grip of a nasty bunch of rowdies who invade the territory every so often during their cattle drive. Combining several familiar scenarios (such as those for "High Noon" and "Shane"), the movie nevertheless gets quite a bit of sagebrush excitement pumping, with the viewer completely on Egan's side (if this film didn't break handsome Egan as a big Hollywood name, it should have). Billy Chapin (from "The Night of the Hunter") is excellent as the lad who takes a shine to Tancred, and Dorothy Malone is also good as a lonely sheriff's wife. Eddy Arnold hauntingly sings the theme song, which plays a major part in the proceedings. Predictable, perhaps, but it's a formula that works when it is done right, and here it is done right. *** from ****

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.