It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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.

"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?

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.