User reviews

Rock Hudson does a bit of stretching in his acting resume in playing a tough as nails Colonel who takes over a Strategic Air Command base and tries to whip it in shape. There's a guy over him who's tougher, a general played by Kevin McCarthy who just flunked the previous base commander in a surprise inspection and that's why Hudson has the job.

A few years earlier James Stewart who was in the Air Force and retired as a Brigadier General in their reserve did a film about the Strategic Air Command entitled just that. Stewart was way too close to the subject to make a really good film about it. This film is far better and has a more objective point of view.

Anyway Hudson moves bag, baggage, and pretty British wife Mary Peach from London to San Francisco. And Hudson thinks it's fortunate that an old pal from the Korean War Rod Taylor is his executive officer. That soon changes however.

A lot of the plot of A Gathering Of Eagles is taken from the John Wayne/ Robert Ryan World War II film Flying Leathernecks. In that one Wayne takes over command of a group of Marine aviators with Ryan as his Executive Officer. If you've seen that one, you know what happens in this film.

Hudson and Taylor as the clashing military officers fill their roles out quite well and look very official in their Air Force uniforms. Also pay attention to Barry Sullivan as an alcoholic officer whose problems bring the problems of Hudson and Taylor to a head.

A Gathering Of Eagles is a good service film and a nice recruiting film for the Air Force.

Well-directed and well-played movie about a tough commander becomes too involved with the pilots in his command . Enjoyable as well as tedious film at times , though . Being designed to showcase the US Air Force's brand-new B-52 Stratofortress bomber, including actual footage of jet plane and as such the studio received complete cooperation from the Air Force . Set during the Cold War and with novelty of peacetime takes place this interesting melodrama . Concerning USA Colonel of a Strategic Aerospace Wing (Rock Hudson) has to shape up his underlings (Robert Lansing , Richard Anderson , Barry Sullivan , Henry Silva , among others) to pass a grueling inspection that the former General had failed, and had been fired for . He is also recently married to beautiful Victoria Caldwell (Mary Peach) , she struggles to adjust to being a good military wife , but Victoria then sees a side to him that she hadn't seen . Meanwhile , there occurs a confrontation between less than likable Col. Jim Caldwell and his friend Col. Hollis Farr (Rod Taylor) . As there crop out gossips surrounding his relationship to Victory Caldwell and things go wrong . As the picture contains a silly and boring family drama with a triangular love story . At the end , it takes place a hard inspection carried out by Gen. 'Happy Jack' Kirby (Kevin McCarthy) .

Intimate as well as spectacular WWI airplane movie with an agreeable cast , impressive aerial scenes and thought-provoking themes , being one of the first Hollywood films to deal with the B-52 . This is a family as well as crisp drama about relationship between husband and wife along with the hard-working carried out by Rock Hudson as a tough commanding officer determined to improve efficiency , interwoven with nice aerial footage of B-52 maneuvers . The aviation footage gives the picture a sense of life , as writer Sy Barlett and filmmaker were both previous fliers themselves . This film is an Universal Pictures official studio tribute to the B-52 Stratofortress bomber air craft and the United States Air Force . Interesting script by Robert Pirosh based on a story by Sy Barlett who also wrote in similar style ¨Twelve O'Clock High¨ that was adapted to cinema in a much superior movie by Henry King with Gregory Peck . This was apparently one of the first films in which the US Air Force's new B-52 Stratofortress bomber was featured . It appeared in a number of films afterward, notably Bombers B-52 (1957) , Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), and By Dawn's Early Light (1990). This movie's dedication shown at the start of the film states : The film is dedicated to personnel and pilots of Strategic Aerospace Wing . Rock Hudson plays decently an Air Force Colonel who has just been re-assigned as a cold war B-52 commander determined to improve the alertness and doing whatever he has to do to shape his men up . Fine plethora of secondaries , many of them uncredited , such as Barry Sullivan , Kevin McCarthy , Henry Silva , Nelson Leigh , Robert Lansing ,Richard Anderson , Brandon De Wilde and brief appearance of an unknown Louise Fletcher as patient's spouse .

Brilliant cinematography in Cinemascope and Technicolor by Russell Harlan . Thrilling as well as rousing musical score by Jerry Goldsmith . Jerry Goldsmith's opening fanfare was licensed by Cinema International Corporation (CIC) for its vanity plate fanfare ; CIC was an international film distribution company, part owned by Universal . The motion picture was well directed by Delbert Mann who was one of the best-known graduates of "The Golden Age of Television," when live original drama was a staple of network TV , but he also directed classic movies such as ¨Separate tables¨, ¨Desire under the Elms¨ and ¨Marty¨ . And directed Rock Hudson in three successive films as ¨That Touch of Mink¨ , ¨Lover Come Back¨ and ¨A Gathering of Eagles¨ .

Many of the group scenes and all exterior shots of B52G aircraft were of our own people and aircraft. It seemed very authentic to us crew members at the time. It did not do well at the box office, and that was attributed to by many critics to the fact that the general public did not find the premise very credible. It now can be viewed as a quite realistic representation of nuclear bombers during the height of the cold war.

This film has a hackneyed plot about the strains put on a marriage by nuclear weapons, but some of the scenes are little short of spectacular. The sequence where Hudson and Taylor are timing a mass takeoff of bombers and discussing the job performance of the base commander is truly awe-inspiring. The wind from the engine blast whips at their clothes and the noise is ear-shattering. Most of the film seems like it was written by complete hacks but there is a story buried under all the maudlin touches.

General "happy jack" Kirby is cool, and unassuming, and drinks coffee twenty four hours a day, and catnaps like Edison. His job is to surprise the B52 wings and make sure that they are combat ready in case of enemy attack. The only objection to the story line is the never ending conflict with husband and wife because his job is so demanding. I think he was an officer in the Air Force when they got married, and didn't she realize this situation going in?And of course Rod Taylor playing the XO was a joke with his familiarity with the troops;he should have been a sargeant at best. But, in spite of the negatives, I seem to have watched this film several times, and enjoyed it and am giving it a 6.....

If you took the time to see this film, you should take the time to investigate what led up to suspicious and distrusting world Governments spending so much time, effort and manpower to frighten populations to the point of spending untold billions for a war which was concocted out of fear rather than reality. There are those who say, The military created SAC to prevent a global war and which justified the bottomless Money Pit which continues to this day. The same can be said by those who believe, we created a defensive system against fire breathing dragons and since there has never been an attack by dragons, proves the Dragon defensive system worked. That said, one can watch as Rock Hudson as Col. Jim Caldwell as he takes command of a substandard Air Force base and with a proficiency ax brings the wing into line with others bases in the United States. Helping him is handsome Rod Taylor as Col. Hollis Farr his second in command. Barry Sullivan plays Col. Bill Fowler with Kevin McCarthy as Gen. 'Happy Jack' Kirby, Henry Silva as Col. Joe Garcia and Robert Lansing as Sgt. Banning. A superb cast and a fine film. ***

ROCK HUDSON is a Strategic Air Command colonel who pushes his men to the limits and neglects his British wife (MARY PEACH) while alienating his colleague (ROD TAYLOR) whom he thinks is getting too chummy with the men under his command.

There's nothing about this service yarn to distinguish it from other such efforts, as STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (with James Stewart/June Allyson) or ABOVE AND BEYOND (Robert Taylor/Eleanor Parker). The romantic interest is dull and Rock Hudson's character is never made too plausible. He starts out as an amiable instructor but switches gear without sufficient character explanation.

A broken fuel line provides some tension at the 45-minute point in the film where Hudson and crew have to make a safe landing without an electrical spark from the landing gear causing a fire. Beyond that, the dramatic tension for the first hour is limp and the story is slow and mechanical.

With the main focus on Readiness Alert, it's still a timely service film hampered by a bad performance from leading lady Mary Peach, an American looking gal with a heavy British accent. Chemistry between Peach and Rock Hudson is practically non-existent. Fortunately, ROD TAYLOR is fine in a co-starring role and BARRY SULLIVAN sympathetic as a man whose drinking problem gets him booted out by Hudson who says he's "not running a rehabilitation center". He shocks his wife with Sullivan's dismissal and his brusque behavior begins a strain in the marriage.

With Hudson dismissing Taylor from command, the story loses steam before the final Operation Readiness Alert goes into action with Taylor subbing for absent Hudson and eventually redeeming himself in Hudson's eyes in time for a happy ending.

Supposedly a tribute to the Officers, airmen and wives of the Strategic Air Command, it should be of above average interest to those service personnel but of limited interest for the average movie-goer in search of strong entertainment.

Delbert Mann being a bomber pilot who flew combat missions during World War 2, was not unfamiliar with Air Force culture. Excellent director that he was, I don't suppose Mann was ever intending to fowl his own nest so to speak, with A Gathering of Eagles, being filmed with the complete cooperation of the USAF and to which the film is dedicated.

So what we end up with is nearly a "A Mutiny on the Bounty" scenario set on a fictitious Air Force base hosting a Strategic Air Command squadron of bomber jets. Rock Hudson is the ambitious Captain Bligh like Wing Commander Caldwell, trying to whip his base into being one of the most efficient in the Force. In doing so they'll be prepared to pass (with flying colours ... sorry) any unannounced "ORI"( operational readiness inspection) hung on them, that we, the audience, know will inevitably arrive. Contrasting with the stern Caldwell, is Rod Taylor's likeable Fletcher Christian parallel, Col. Hollis Farr the base's vice wing commander.

I say "nearly" because a movie receiving a high degree of support and cooperation from the armed forces, is always unlikely to be then critical of the hand that feeds. And so it proves here in A Gathering of Eagles.

The closest we ever get to a mutiny situation is "general unrest on the base". The "Fletcher Christian figure" is fired well before any uprising occurs, though he does end up temporarily "steering the ship" so to speak during the film's climax. Caldwell's regime of firm discipline and rigorous application is demonstrated to succeed to all and sundry. I include his wife here. It may be realistic, but in all honesty it doesn't make for good drama. Thus when a senior career officer is fired and facing an early forced retirement, his suicide attempt miserably fails, as we expect. It wouldn't look good if the military was linked to an onscreen suicide. To further enhance this extreme aspect of tough love, Caldwell is seen shaking the ex-officer out of his depression, by giving him another bawling out, this one conveniently designed to "inspire" him to greater things outside military life.

The positives of a close association with the military are on show for all to see. The plentiful hardware both in the air and on the grounds reeks of authenticity. The airborne cinematography is never less than impressive.

But in a close to two hour film, the storyline needs a lot more than an almost fawning predictability and supplication to sustain our interest and this is where AGOE, comes closest to crashing and burning. Little wonder then, unlike some of Mann's earlier films, this was a critical and commercial flop.

This is a study in the problems of military command, about how to reconcile the difficulties of a leader trying to decide whether to be a buddy to his men or a tough and hated son of a bitch who just wants to get the job done, no matter what the personal cost. In this case, Rock Hudson plays the commander of a Strategic Air Command B-52 bomber wing and missile base in Northern California.

As a command study, it was all done far better in films like "Twelve O'Clock High" and "Command Decision" although some of the aerial footage is impressive. The one reason I watched this film is that it contains a song called "The SAC Song" written by musical satirist Tom Lehrer (known for song parodies such as "National Brotherhood Week" and "The Vatican Rag" a number of which were sung on the 1960s TV show "That Was the Week That Was." ) The song is very short (it is sung in about a minute) but it is typical Lehrer and, probably for legal reasons, does not appear in the recent complete CD collection of his works "The Remains of Tom Lehrer.) I am going to try to put it in this listing as a quote.

Extremely unpleasant film has Rock Hudson (looking exhausted) playing Air Force Colonel assigned to head up Strategic Air Command Base near San Francisco, but once he gets there and starts cracking the whip, eliminating employees, nobody wants anything to do with this Boss from Hell. Hudson's character, ostensibly succumbing to a power-hungry ego, isn't given enough dimension; when we first meet him, genially conducting a tour, he's pleasant and eager to please. His sudden personality change isn't explained nor is it convincing; he becomes such a hard-nose that even his adoring wife wants to leave him! It's an insanely misguided picture, with the strategies of the Air Force used almost as a backdrop. The opening sequence, with Kevin McCarthy performing a war simulation ground-maneuver, seems to have little to do with what follows, and only Rod Taylor and Barry Sullivan come up with performances of interest. ** from ****

"Rock Hudson" is almost synonymous with either lighthearted battle-of-the-sexes romantic comedy (many with Doris Day) or director Douglas Sirk's 'soap' melodrama (two with Jane Wyman), but a serious role in a story about military life (Air Force SAC squadron) is truly a departure.

I was fortunate to catch the film "A Gathering of Eagles" 1963 by director Delbert Mann on TCM cable in August when they showed several Rock Hudson movies the same day. This is a rare instance with Rock Hudson in an earnest role and he delivered a mighty convincing Col. Jim Caldwell in the Air Force to shape up the SAC (Strategic Air Command) squadron.

"A Gathering of Eagles" 1963, is known to be accurate in depicting the lives of SAC men. Director Delbert Mann himself is not unfamiliar with Air Force life, having been a bomber pilot and flew combat missions in the war years. Script by Robert Pirosh gave us a dramatic story covering military duty life in the Air Corps: family and wives, camaraderie spirits, demanding duties/schedules, firm disciplines and technical aspects included. Hudson was solid in his performance as a tough tireless Colonel assigned to lead the SAC members to ensure they're tightly trained with repeated alert exercises, that the fighter bombers be in absolute tip-top conditions for any unannounced "ORI" (operational readiness inspection).

Cinematography by Russell Harlan with editing by Russell Schoengarth 'showcased' scenes of "MITO" (Minimum Interval Take Off) of B-52's and aircraft aerials quite impressively. Good supporting cast includes Rod Taylor as Col. Hollis Farr, Barry Sullivan as Col. Bill Fowler, Henry Silva as Col. Joe Garcia, Leora Dana as Mrs. Fowler, and Mary Peach as Victoria Caldwell, the British wife to Hudson's colonel. Besides the involving 'storyline' of the day to day challenges of Col. Caldwell's military responsibilities, the family aspect of balancing the role of a loving husband to Victoria is well portrayed. The script poignantly afforded uncertainty situations in the mix for Peach, as 'military' wives may have to go through - adapting herself and trying to understand and to cope with her husband's dedication to the Air Force in his chosen career.

Music score is by the prolific Jerry Goldsmith. "A Gathering of Eagles" is not yet on DVD. Hope to catch it again on cable/TV, or VHS rental.

Other serious roles by Rock Hudson: "Seconds" 1966, the intriguing thriller/science-fiction directed by John Frankenheimer, enhanced by remarkable b/w cinematography by James Wong Howe. "Hornets' Nest" 1970, a wartime WWII story set in Italy with an 'army' of young boys helping Hudson's Captain Turner to complete his mission (I stumbled onto this movie one late TCM cable night). He's also in Douglas Sirk's "The Tarnish Angels" 1958, appearing once again with Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone (they were in Sirk's melodrama "Written on the Wind" 1956).

Forget the technical aspects of explaining what the function of these fliers are. It was a tedious explanation at the beginning of the flick and was as confusing as Price Waterhouse's explanation of voting procedures at the Oscars each year and as boring and difficult as Ethel Weintraub's chemistry class at Erasmus Hall H.S. in Brooklyn.

The film begins to take shape when it discusses the human element. Rock Hudson portrays a hard driven commander who pushes his men to the limit so as to prepare our people in aviation for a war emergency.

In the process of doing this, Hudson ruins the life of veteran Barry Sullivan. The former feels that Sullivan can no longer cope with the difficulty of the job and forces him into retirement. This retirement causes Sullivan's son to leave Stanford and the Sullivan character placing a bullet in his body in a suicide attempt. Rock, as Col. Caldwell, ameliorates the situation by visiting Sullivan in the hospital and gets him to say that he will strive for excellence in his new position in civilian life.

Hudson also tries to get rid of Rod Taylor as he believes that the latter has become too chummy with the men.

It is while Hudson is visiting Sullivan at the hospital that a simulated emergency occurs which tests the strengths of all.

Mary Peach plays the British wife of Hudson. Her performance is not peachy-keen. When she first walks off a plane to meet her husband in an early scene, you would think that Queen Elizabeth was playing the part.

A good film relating to working with men in a difficult but often unexplained task.

Rod Taylor and Mr. Hudson can't be commended for their excessive smoking in this film. Is this what our army brass has come to?

Written by Robert Pirosh, the same man who brought audiences Battleground and Go for Broke! during WWII, A Gathering of Eagles was supposed to be an homage to Twelve O'Clock High. While I hated that 1949 drama and found it incredibly boring, this 1963 film wasn't really any better. Rock Hudson stars as a hard-nosed commander at a new Air Force base that failed to pass its previous inspection by head honcho Kevin McCarthy. While everyone knows Rock can play a convincing jerk, in my opinion he doesn't play a convincing soldier despite his WWII service in the Navy. He doesn't come across as having enormous self-discipline, a quality needed for this role and others like Ice Station Zebra.

As Rock gets meaner and meaner, his wife Mary Peach and his friend Rod Taylor pull away from him. They complain he's too cold and doesn't see the humanity within the soldiers. Since Rock is trying to get the base to prepare for the worst-case scenario (pressing the red button and signaling a dozen planes to fly all over the world and drop bombs), I think it's fair that he's cold and doesn't allow mistakes among his men. When the time comes, if a man reports for duty hungover and drops his bomb on the wrong town, his commanding officer shouldn't say, "Gee whiz, everybody's human." Since I didn't agree with the main message of the movie, and the rest of the movie was incredibly boring, I can't really recommend this one unless you liked Gregory Peck's earlier movie.

I was only able to see this movie once and have been looking for it ever since to no avail, so far. I was at Travis AFB at the time of it's filming. I worked on the flight line and our planes were those used in the film. I was also TDY (temporary duty) at Beale AFB where I understand most or much of the filming took place. I worked on B-52's and KC-135As in servicing, recovery and crew chief duty and spent a lot of time on alert duty at the hard pad Alert Facility. All this to say that the film was VERY true to what SAC life was like in the flesh. I can see why some think the plot was a little thin as it was a glimpse into what day-to-day life in SAC was like. The Minimum Interval Take-offs (MITOs)were very true to life, sometimes three bombers and/or tankers rolling on the runway at the same time. If full count points aren't given for the plot, or there are those who would discount because of Rock Hudson's personal life, certainly full credit has to be given for accuracy. I know, I was there! I would love to own a DVD of this movie. I have been waiting over 40 years. Help, anyone? I'd even settle for a VHS tape.

A Gathering of Eagles is a solid film that showcases Rock Hudson's acting strengths. The movie revolves around a high-ranking air force officer who is tasked with turning around a struggling military base. Hudson, who plays the lead role, brings a commanding presence to the screen and delivers a captivating performance.

Despite the impressive acting and intriguing storyline, A Gathering of Eagles lacks the edge that would make it a truly great film. The movie's pacing is slow, and some of the scenes feel forced and contrived. Additionally, the characters are not well developed, leaving a disconnect from their struggles and triumphs.

That being said, A Gathering of Eagles does have its merits. The film gives viewers a glimpse into the world of the military, shedding light on the inner workings of military bases and the challenges faced by high-ranking officials. It's also refreshing to see a film that focuses on the military's daily grind rather than on the battlefield.

Saw this movie at the drive-in when it first came out. The flying scenes looked terrific on the big screen and even now on DVD they don't disappoint. I think "The Strategic Air Command" made in 1955 with Jimmy Stewart did a much better job of showcasing the B-36 and B-47 aircraft of the time than this movie did with the B-52. But all-in-all, I enjoyed seeing the B-52s taking to the air with the thick clouds of black smoke trailing behind them. We didn't pay that much attention to the smoke at the time.

However, the non-flying drama of this movie certainly has become more relevant in the recent past. Even though SAC ceased 24/7 operations when the Cold War 'ended', we still require the dedication and efficiency extolled in this movie today. Without it, we have bundles of nuclear weapons shipped from one base to another unknowingly by the crew, stacks of nuclear bombs left unguarded on AFB tarmacs, 'special' weapons misdirected, misstored and forgotten. These incidents resulted in the dismissal of various AF commanders, but should never have happened. The country deserved the kind of professionalism strived for by the characters depicted in this movie and we didn't (always) get it.

On the surface, if you don't pay any attention, this is an ok film; but.......... Rock Hudson would never be that kind of jerk - and it doesn't come off well (not that Rock was a great actor.....). There was absolutely NOTHING between Rock and Mary Peach - no chemistry what so ever. The historical references and the logistics seemed a little outta whack as well. All in all, just not that great a picture.

I remember seeing this movie with my Dad when I was a boy, and later visiting Beale AFB to see the Thunderbirds perform. Much later, I saw it again and realized how true to life it must have been in the early 60's. You really get the feel of what it must have been like on alert during the height of the Cold War. The acting was above par, and the flying scenes are excellent. Any aviation or USAF buff should not miss this film.

This is one of those films which nine out of ten would pass by but the tenth would be hooked .... and I am one of the 'tenth'. I liked the Air Force Base setting and although there isn't a great deal of plot, the script is tight and suspenseful. The Aerial sequences are excellent for the period, particularly the mid-air refuelling scenes. This is a film that I am going to own as a DVD someday.

Update: I got a DVD-R of this film in widescreen and watched it again for the first time in over 40 years. I now think it is a slightly better film than I originally thought with competent performances by all concerned. I agree that Kevin McCarthy's cameo as the snooping Major General 'Happy Jack' Kirby adds to the strange appeal of this film and despite the forced accent, Mary Peach is not as annoying as I previously believed. I increased my own rating from the previous 7 to 8.

I was stationed at Beale AFB, California when the Movie "A GATHERING OF EAGLES" was filmed, and watched much of the filming. I was the crew chief on B-52G #6515 (cannot give the rest of the tail number) I spent many hours on the alert pad. And if you have never had that experience of answering to the call in the middle of the night to a klaxon from a sound sleep to running to your fast ride vehicle and being prepared to launch your aircraft and flight-crew, Then you don't what being a proud B-52G Crew Chief is like. All of the people in SAC had special jobs. I'm honored to have served with the greatest command in the world. Therefore I rate the movie very high. After the film about a year later I worked on the Aircraft that they used for the movie. I still have some local news paper articles and pictures from the filming. I went to Beale last year "2006" for an air show and got to go out on the hardstand where my air plane was parked many times. I read and agree with one of the people about the hot brakes. Also a scene where the so called fuel was coming out of the main entry hatch. The real crew chief was standing up inside the aircraft pouring water out of a bucket to simulate the fuel. I'm trying to get a copy of the movie in DVD or VHF. I would be glad to help with copies of the news paper articles. I would like to find someone else that was in the 456th OMS at Beale during the filming that was a crew chief or a ground crew member on the B-52G's

Thank you

Jerry

It was because of this movie I joined the USAF and actually worked in SAC on ICBMs for over 20 years. I was fortunate enough to be assigned to a base that had both B-52s, KC-135s, and ICBMs. Every time I see this movie it makes me proud of my association with the slogan "Peace is our Profession" and winning the "Cold War" without having to fire a shot. When my daughter asked me "What did you do in the War daddy" I showed her the movie and that said it all. This movie is timeless and gives those who were never in SAC a very small glimpse of this unique arm of the US Air Force. Every time I hear the PAS (Primary Alerting System)warble, it brought back memories. The ORIs (Operational Readiness Inspections) were just like I remembered them, including all the inspectors that fan out through the base. When this movie comes out on DVD, I'll be the first in line.