A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

During the Cold War, Air Force Colonel Jim Caldwell shapes up his Strategic Air Command B-52 wing to pass a nuclear war readiness test.

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Robert Pirosh (screenplay), Sy Bartlett (story)

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor, Mary Peach

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rock Hudson	...	Col. Jim Caldwell
Rod Taylor	...	Col. Hollis Farr
Mary Peach	...	Victoria Caldwell
Barry Sullivan	...	Col. Bill Fowler
Kevin McCarthy	...	Gen. 'Happy Jack' Kirby
Henry Silva	...	Col. Joe Garcia
Leora Dana	...	Mrs. Evelyn Fowler
Robert Lansing	...	Sgt. Banning
Richard Anderson	...	Col. Ralph Josten
Richard LePore	...	Sgt. Kemler
Robert Bray	...	Lt. Col. Gales
Jim Bannon	...	Col. Morse
Nelson Leigh	...	Gen. Aymes
Russ Bender	...	Col. Torrance
John McKee	...	Maj. Travis

Storyline

Rock Hudson plays an Air Force Colonel who has just been re-assigned as a cold war B-52 commander who must shape up his men to pass a grueling inspection that the previous commander had failed, and had been fired for. He is also recently married, and as a tough commanding officer doing whatever he has to do to shape his men up, his wife sees a side to him that she hadn't seen before.

---

Plot Keywords:

cold war | nuclear war | nuclear bomb | male female relationship | accident | 

---

Taglines:

ROCK HUDSON - HOLLYWOOD'S NO. 1 HE-MAN STAR! (original print ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Aguilas al acecho

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,346,500 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastman Color by Pathé) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Louise Fletcher's first film role (Mrs. Kemler)

---

Goofs

During the no notice readiness inspection at the end of the film General Kirby is informed that the operation begins at 23:06 ZULU. Zulu time is Greenwich Mean Time so as the Air-Base is near San Francisco the local time for the start of the operation should be 16:06 Pacific Daylight Time and the B-52 aircraft should be taking off in daylight not darkness as seen.

---

Quotes

Col. Hollis Farr: But what about this request for transfer?
Col. Jim Caldwell: I never saw it.
Col. Hollis Farr: Aw, come on! If you stall around on this, all he'll do is go to the Inspector General. Why go out on a limb?
Col. Jim Caldwell: Out on a limb? How in the hell do you think I've been living since I took this job? What's wrong with going out on a limb, Hollis?
Col. Hollis Farr: Don't get excited. I didn't mean it that way.
Col. Jim Caldwell: Well, I'd like to know exactly what you did mean.
Col. Hollis Farr: I... I just meant you should be careful the way you handle it.
Col. Jim Caldwell: You leave this one with me. And if ...

---

Connections

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

---

Soundtracks

The Sac Song
Words and Music by Tom Lehrer

User Reviews

It was made at my SAC bomb wing in 1963

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.