Tension at Table Rock (1956) User Reviews (26)

Better than average Western with a good cast and story.

[Slim-4 · 6/10 · 25 November 1998]

This is a better than average telling of the trail herd vs. the town story. A legendary gunfighter(played by Richard Egan) hiding from his past drifts into a town about to be visited by a trail herd. The sheriff (played by Cameron Mitchell) has more than his share of troubles with the town council, a local saloon owner and his pretty wife (played by Dorothy Malone). The ending is predictable with the gunfighter confronting his past, shooting a gunfighter hired to kill the sheriff and saving the town.

Although the usual cliches are plentiful, the movie is well photographed and colorful. The script is well above average and there is much more going on plot-wise than usual. The acting is top notch. DeForest Kelly is memorable in a small role as a gunman hired by the saloon owner to kill the sheriff. There is also an excellent Dimitri Tiomkin score which reflects nicely the psychological undercurrents of the gunfighter's past.

This movie is well worth the time.

Telling A False Tale

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 27 March 2010]

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.

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys

[helpless_dancer · 7/10 · 30 July 2002]

Good western featuring a reticent gunslinger and a lawman who has lost his nerve who must go up against a group of thugs who want to let off steam in their town. Egan was well cast as the gunman who was short on talk and long on slinging lead when the chips were down.

Great Title, Good Film

[abooboo-2 · 7/10 · 10 February 2001]

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.

Lots of tension amongst these honest ranchers and black-hearted sidewinders...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 6 June 2008]

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 ****

The Ballad of Wes Tancred.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 10 February 2016]

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

Almost a top Table

[FilmFlaneur · 7/10 · 6 April 2008]

TENSION AT TABLE ROCK is a underrated Western starring the taciturn and fleshy Richard Egan as Wes Tancred, a man thought by society to have shot his best friend in the back (an event celebrated by an ubiquitous ballad through much of the film). The song of course is incorrect, as the audience knows full well from watching the opening scenes. But such miscomprehension is central to a film frequently concerned with people being what they are not, or at the least not what they are expected to be. Just as Tancred is not the "black-hearted, white-livered, backbitin' sidewinder" murderer as the infamous lyrics say, so Sheriff Miller (Camron Mitchell) is no longer the fearless lawman he was after his beating; his wife Lorna (Dorothy Malone)is no floozy as the audience initially suspects; and even the gunfighter Jim Brek, finally brought in to dispatch the lawman turns out to be an affable enough, if still dangerous, fellow.

Malone's casting as Lorna is on one level ideal; the actress made such a success as an unstable nymphomaniac in Sirk's marvellous WRITTEN ON THE WIND made the same year, and in that light it's the unaccustomed restraint between her character, wife of a weak male and the strong Tancred (who clearly is infatuated with her) which is one of TABLE ROCK's more interesting elements. Having said that, an early appearance by Angie Dickinson in the film, 3 years before her memorable role in RIO BRAVO makes one wonder what she would have brought to the main female part.

In one of the film's key scenes, Miller returns home early to overhear his wife treating Tancred's head flesh wound - a moment of relative intimacy, ripe for a liaison, but which never materialises. (In a quietly Freudian moment he moves Tancred's hat off the back of the door revealing a peg beneath). As she says to her patient admiringly: "You're really the man Jody thinks you are" Miller reflects upon his own shortcomings. The irony is, of course, that Tancred is in fact really a man that *nobody* thinks he is, and someone who can only be be admired, loved and respected without a damaging reputation in place. From this perspective the film can be seen as the interesting antithesis to such works as Ford's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, where one is invited to believe the legend of the West, and not the truth.

Charles Marque Warren's direction is up to the job, although it is buoyed considerably by a fine score by Dmitri Tiomkin - another reason why the film should be better known. It may be that Warren (who made a number of Westerns, and co-wrote the fine DAY OF THE EVIL GUN) is ripe for reappraisal. Cameron Mitchell is also good in his difficult role which would probably have suited a slightly older actor. Egan's performance is subdued but fairly subtle as he plays a man who internalises a lot of his moral decisions, and this is surely one of his best works. The young Jody is played by Billy Chapin who made such an impression in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, but at times here his experience, largely among older, more violent males, recalls the world of TV's THE RIFLEMAN notably during his early scenes with Tancred and his natural father. It's these moments too, set as they are in a Fargo way station, a world threatened by the arrival of thugs with their own agenda, which might reflect the narrative influence of the celebrated Randolph Scott cycle made with Budd Boetticher, made around this time.

Trivia note: the film contains characters called Kirk and Scotty, while DeForrest Kelley (Brek) played McCoy in Star Trek.

A Minor Masterpiece

[nigel-hawkes · 9/10 · 17 September 2009]

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.

Surprisingly good Western - right in the heart of the genre

[rooster_davis · 7/10 · 17 July 2008]

I was surprised how good this movie turned out to be. Talk about a Western for Western-lovers - there's the guy (Wes Tancred played by Richard Egan) who's good with a gun, a cattle drive where the cowboys are going to overrun and terrorize a town, the sheriff is weak and his wife falls for Tancred. There are a lot of smaller stories that influence the action. Billy Chapin plays a boy named Jody whose father is killed by outlaws; Tancred kills the outlaws and takes the boy to live with his uncle and aunt (the sheriff and his wife). The local newspaper's editor is at odds with the sheriff, knowing he is weak and is afraid to stand up to bad guys.

The basic plot is of someone, Tancred, who is trying to escape his past and start over, but things keep making it hard for him to do that. A popular folk song claims that he killed his best friend by shooting him in the back, so under his actual name he is a reviled man. He changes his name and ends up taking part in the town's struggles against the bad guy cowboys.

This movie has plenty of action; it doesn't just sit there and talk you to death. Between the guns and horses and fights and shooting and saloon and all, it's got to be called a classic Western, no doubt.

The casting is good though I was surprised at how many people I hadn't really seen in many Westerns; meanwhile there was not a Lee Van Cleef or a Denver Pyle or a Jack Elam or a Paul Fix to be seen. Doesn't matter much though, the cast did a very good job. The movie is in color though the quality of the color is uneven from scene to scene.

I enjoyed this movie more than I expected to, and it's surely worth the watching for anyone who likes Westerns.

A must see 50's western

[zorg1952 · 8/10 · 18 August 2005]

This movie has all the ingredients most Western fans love in their films: gunfights, love triangles, bad guys & a quiet, suffering & misunderstood hero working out his private travails by helping a beleaguered sheriff deal with his own demons. All with a rousing Dimitri Tiomkin score that has a memorable ballad at its core. We've seen these ingredients before in many other Westerns but in this film they seem to work.

Richard Egan non-acting style work perfectly here & the supporting cast boasts small but vivid parts for Angie Dickenson as the siren that starts Egan's private struggle & Deforest Kelly as a smiling, friendly gunslinger. I've seen this film a number of times & surprisingly the film still works.

Blazing Familiar Trails

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 28 March 2010]

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

Serious and interesting Western with thrilling scenes , well-cast and finely acted

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 26 March 2020]

Wes Tancred (Richard Egan) has killed a popular gunslinger in self-defense. Being accused of cowardice , then the lone and friendless gunfighter is detained, after that , he is freed . Along the way Wes finds a job at an isolated stagecoach outpost , run by father and son Ed and Jody Burrows . When three outlaws try to occupy this outpost , Ed is killed . West then brings Jody (Billy Chaplin) to his uncle (Cameron Mitchell) and aunt Lorna Miller (Dorothy Malone) in the small pokey town of Table Rock. Lorna's hubby , Sheriff Fred Miller, is a frightened after a brawl in his past . When a gang of fifty lawless drovers (led by John Dehner) visit Table Rock they cause much violence, firing and destruction with even a rancher slain . The local citizens , Lorna and the bunch of drovers now turn their backs on enforcement law Fred , but this one is scared . A man like SHANE...the suspense of HIGH NOON!

Enjoyable taut minor and nicely done Western has loner Richard Egan riding into town and meeting a raving nervy lawman Cameron Mitchell , meantime he falls in love for his wife Dorothy Malone . A decent Western that works efficiently within its own rather derivative limits . It is a nice rendition based of Frank Gruber's novel ¨Bitter Sage¨ with tought-provoking script by Winston Miller . Another Western with a great theme song , - what Western hadn't by that time- , in fact there is a mean-spirited ballad sung about the killing wherever the starring goes . It is an usual Western of the Fifities with echoes of the classics as ¨High Noon¨ , ¨Duel at O.K. Corral¨ or ¨Shane¨ . Richard Egan give a nice acting as Wes Tancred who is on the run from an infamy and he must prove he killed in self-defense , while falls for sheriff's wife well played by Dorothy Malone who in her next movie : ¨Written on the wind¨ , would bring her an Academy Award . And Cameron Mitchell is pretty good as frightened and traumatized sheriff Fred who does not dare to act because of his past . The film is really buoyed by several familar faces in the supporting cast ; look out , in particular the following ones : John Dehner is impressive as a sneaky villian , Edward Andrews is first-class as another extreme villainous , the always beautiful Angie Dickinson , Royal Dano as a publisher , Joe Di Santis , Lance Fuller , Gregg Barton . And special mention for DeForest Kelley as gunslinger Jim Breck , whom the starring knows from the past , arrives on the scene he has to make a difficult decision , to kill him . Kelley plays very well a gunman a decade before he picked up his stethoscope as Star Trek's sympathetic ¨Bones¨.

It contains an evocative and adequate musical score by the classy composer Dimitri Tiomkin . The colour cinematography by expert cameraman Joseph Biroc is pretty good , but a necessary remastering being necessary . Shot on location in Red Rock Canyon State Park , liIverson Ranch , Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, and Melody Ranch , Oak Creek , Newhall, California, Los Angeles, California. The motion picture produced by Sam Wiesenthal was well directed by Charles Marquis Warren , a splendid and distinguished author of notorious Wild West yarns . Charles was a good craftsman who wrote , produced or directed a lot of Westerns , such as : Day of the Evil Gun , Cattle Empire , Blood arrow , Arrowhead , Hellgate , Little Big Horn , Springfield Rifle , Trooper Hook, and a western starred by Elvis Presley : Charro . He also made TV series as Gunsmoke , The Forsaken Westerns , The Virginian , Rawhide , among others. The pic will appeal to Westerns fans .

Understated But Raw

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 21 November 2013]

Better than Average Western with a Fine Cast and has Moments of Hard-Hitting Fisticuffs and Underplayed Suspense. It is a B-Movie that does have a Good Score and is in Color. It Relies on Melodrama and Good Dialog to Offset the Less than Sprawling Cinematography.

There is an Orphaned Youngster and the Characters are more Conflicted and Deep than in a Standard Oater. Richard Egan is Expressionless as is Cameron Mitchell and Dorothy Malone is Radiant and there for some Sexual Tension.

It does have a Laid-Back Feel and Never seems to Rise Above its Rasin' but there are Confrontations Aplenty and it is a Mature Movie. Definitely worth a View for Western Fans and some Others may find Pleasure in its Understated but Raw Roughness.

Will The Real Dr. McCoy Please Stand Up

[DKosty123 · 30 September 2011]

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.

Decent if somewhat clichéd western

[Tweekums · 6/10 · 19 February 2012]

When I started watching this the only thing I knew about it was that it was a western; I didn't even know who was in it. That didn't matter as the opening scenes had me hooked; Wes Tancred, the films protagonist, has decided to go his own way because his one time friend is now just a murderer, the man's wife asks to come with him but is rebuffed so when the two men get into a gunfight she says Wes shot her unarmed husband in the back; it is a lie of course, in fact he drew first. By the time Wes is released from jail and given the reward for killing a wanted man he is famed as 'the man who shot his friend in the back'; there is even a song being sung about his cowardice. With nothing else to do he heads out of town and when he gets to a remote outpost takes on the name John Bailey. He isn't there long before a group of bandits turn up and kill the man running it; Wes manages to shoot them but is left looking after the man's son. He takes the boy on to the town of Table Rock as his uncle is the sheriff there. It seems a nice enough town but the people are scared because a cattle drive is on its way though and this has led to trouble in previous years. The sheriff, keen to avoid trouble, lets the drovers come into town on the condition that they don't cause any trouble... they do and a farmer is killed. The sheriff has to decide whether to stand up to the killers or accept their story that it was a fair fight when he knows it wasn't. His ultimate decision will lead to him facing personal demons to protect the town and Wes admitting who he really is and having to face another old friend in a gun fight.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this considering that there was only one actor I'd heard of in the film and he only had a small role. Richard Egan did a good enough job as Wes Tancred although I thought Cameron Mitchell was better as the sheriff doing his best despite being terrified of the drovers after an incident where he was severely beaten by some in a previous year. DeForest 'Dr McCoy' Kelley buts in a nice turn as the gunslinger who shoots it out with Wes at the end but unfortunately his role was fairly small. The action was good enough although people more familiar with modern films may be surprised that nobody sheds a drop of blood even when fatally shot! I'm not sure I'd recommend going out of your way to see this but if it is on television is passes an hour and a half well enough if you enjoy westerns.

Good unknown western but riddled with the usual clichés...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 27 March 2010]

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.

Tense western with a fine supporting cast

[bux · 9/10 · 6 November 1998]

As a director, Warren(Little Big Horn,1951) was either very hot or cold. He's hot here. The tension rises as the town braces for the insurgence of rowdy, often deadly cattlemen and copes with a sheriff who doubts his courage. Egan is superb as the man who has killed a blood-thirsty outlaw, now turned legend. There is enough action on hand to satisfy all and a rousing score by Dimitri Tiomken. One of the good ones.

Strictly by the book

[jordondave-28085 · 6/10 · 28 May 2023]

(1956) Tension At Table Rock WESTERN

Two bounty hunters in a log cabin are at split ends with one another resulting to one of them attempting to shoot the other one on the back, and it was because of his selfish girlfriend lusting after his partner behind his back. And he was shot in self defense, but the only witness that was present says otherwise, since she despised him for not falling for her advances. He gives himself up, and while in jail he gets released because of a full pardon, he collects the money for the bounty when it should've been divided with his partner, and upon going to a saloon, he gets mocked by several gunmen for shooting his partner in the back. It is soon revealed to the viewers that the person he shot happens to be a well known professional gunfighter, and that as a result of him being killed created a popular song about how the star shot his partner and best friend in cold blood when it was clearly in self defense. He gets provoked by this while drinking in a saloon and after losing to some fisticuffs with him against 3 to 5 men, he then leaves the town and goes somewhere else. And while riding he comes across an almost abandoned area consisting of a barn and wooden house. He's then offered a job working there by a crippled man who happens to have a 12 year old son, it is soon revealed that it is only a stopping point when stagecoaches pass by before going somewhere else. Strictly by the book.

Surprisingly good flick

[david-hinman-1 · 8/10 · 11 June 2008]

I had never seen nor heard of this movie, though it was made in the year of my birth. Typical of many westerns of that era, with some stolen themes, mostly from 'Shane', such as the subtle interest between the stranger and his new friends stay at home wife, and the brewing battle that you just knew the stranger would reluctantly join, it still had many twists and turns that were not given away. Egen was likable, but could have used a little more character development. However, his quiet acting approach mostly seemed to work well with the movie, and there was just enough action to let you know that this gunman knew his trade, and make you eagerly await the next show down. Dorothy Malone was fine, but she looked like she had spent all day at the beach, and was ready for a night out. She could have looked a little more 'frontierish'. The most interesting part of the movie was the friendship between our hero, and the gunman sent to kill him, a great touch. The music was very haunting throughout, and added to make this movie a hidden gem. Very enjoyable movie.

Richard Egan and Cameron Mitchell

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 30 April 2014]

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.

Highly underrated

[mharrison-17627 · 10/10 · 7 September 2020]

More interesting than the slow-moving "Shane" or the overrated "High Noon", this superb western has Richard Egan well cast as the misunderstood outsider. Egan was often a wooden actor but he was surprisingly effective in this film. Cameron Mitchell gives a fine performance as the sheriff who has to prove he can still keep the town in order. It is surprising that Billy Chapin never made another film after his moving portrayal of Jody.

10/10.

Surprisingly, the theme is a bit like "Talladega Nights"!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 24 September 2021]

When the story begins, Wes Tancred (Richard Egan) shoots his friend because the man, though respected, was an evil murderer. The sole witness, the dead man's girlfriend, lies and says Tancred just shot the guy in the back! Well, the dead man was wanted...so the sheriff does nothing. But the people in the town believe the lie and begin singing songs about the villainous Wes Tancred! Well, Tancred isn't stupid and he leaves for greener pastures.

Along the way, Tancred meets up with a nice man and his young son...and the boy really likes Wes. But soon some villains come and kill the boy's father...and Tancred takes out the three murderers. With no family, Tancred takes the boy to the next town where his uncle is the sheriff.

Once in town, Tancred realizes that the sheriff is afraid. A cattle drive is coming by the town and that means trouble-making cowboys. But instead of keeping them out, the sheriff wants to be nice in the hope that everyone lives and let live. Well, based on the past, this isn't going to be the case and what follows is a chance for the sheriff to regain his manhood....much like Ricky Bobby did in "Talladega Nights"...but without the Frenchman and ne'er do well father.

The acting was really nice in this one, and Egan was a most agreeable lead. So, while the story had some very familiar themes, the acting and writing helped the film to rise above the countless westerns of the day. Well worth seeing.

Similarities with "Shane"

[thirsch-2 · 11 June 2006]

"Tension" has quite a few similarities with "Shane." In fact, you could call "Tension" Shane Lite or Shane Jr.

Here are some similarities: Proficient gunman shows up. He has good heart it appears. He rescues boy then helps family. Wife seems to take liking to him, like Alan Ladd to Jean Arthur. Husband is a little confused & weak. Hired killer comes into town but gunman kills him. Then rides off.

Whereas "Shane" was very well paced and held your attention, "Tension" is very slow and boring at times.

The gunman really isn't very interesting, nor is the family.

On the whole, I'd give "Tension" 3 stars out of 10.

Tired Premise has its Moments

[dougdoepke · 11 December 2010]

Fugitive gunslinger is torn between fleeing a town or staying to help.

The obvious comparison is Shane (1953). But whereas the result there rises to mythic heights, here the results are little more than pedestrian, and I'm not sure why. Certainly, director Warren's erratic pacing doesn't help—the dialog scenes, especially with Malone, bring things to a slumping stop. For a Western, that's deadly. Then too, wardrobe gussies up Malone (a fine actress, nonetheless) like it's Oscar night on the frontier, befitting her star-status, I guess.

I really like the first half, especially DeSantis's hapless station agent. He brings a strong hint of soul to the part, something Egan, in the lead part, needs in order to broaden Tancred's conflicted character. Unfortunately, Egan never gets beyond a single stony expression (contrast that with Ladd's nicely nuanced Shane).

Still, that opening is a real grabber. Too bad, we lose that fine villain Paul Richards (Sam) so early in the movie. Speaking of expert bad guys, the 90-minutes is filled with them, from the slippery Edward Andrews to the commanding John Dehner to the plain mean James Anderson, and even Star Trek's DeForrest Kelley makes a charming gunslinger. And that's along with affecting turns from Cameron Mitchell and the wonderful little Billy Chapin.

The trouble is that once the focus comes to town, events lose the edge they've had. Nor does it help that the town is an obvious studio backlot (contrast that with Shane's desolate mudhole of a town). Anyway, there're a number of nice touches (Dickinson's treacherous Cathy, for one), but unfortunately these can't overcome the limitations of budget and pacing, resulting generally in an interesting but undistinguished 90-minutes.

Charles Marquis Warren's excellent stuff

[searchanddestroy-1 · 5 February 2023]

This western is just in the middle of Charles Marquis Warren's career, he the western great specialist. The story, scheme, brings nothing really unusual, surprising or new, but it is splendidly made, with a Richard Egan as the lead character. I repeat, there is nothing really unexpected, unpredictable, and that's the only flaw which I can notice in this well made, tense, little RKO studios western, with an admirable atmosphere, poignant, enjoyable. We can appreciate the supporting characters, a perfect cast, and the settings, this desert town....we can enjoy here the talent of this western specialist who was for me just after Delmer Daves, John Sturges or John Ford. And what a pleasure to have De Forest Kelley, the villain with a baby gentle face; unlike many more villains who had on the contrary rough, tough faces.