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.

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

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.

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.