A Gathering of Eagles *** (1963, Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor, Mary Peach, Barry Sullivan, Kevin McCarthy, Henry Silva) – Classic Movie Review 10,025

Director Delbert Mann’s involving, timely 1963 military adventure drama A Gathering of Eagles stars Rock Hudson as US Air Force Colonel Jim Caldwell, the man the flying boys love to hate when he attempts to tighten up his Cold War peacetime US Air Force base, the Strategic Air Command B-52 wing.

The actors rattle the solid nuclear war readiness script along, and Mann directs with precision, especially in the airborne sequences. Cast against type, Hudson does surprisingly well in an unsympathetic part, while Mary Peach is appealing as his English wife trying to come to terms with Strategic Air Command life and being largely ignored by Hudson, who is too busy with his career. Rod Taylor also stars as Colonel Hollis Farr.

Also in the cast are Barry Sullivan, Kevin McCarthy, Henry Silva, Leif Erickson, Leora Dana, Robert Lansing, Richard Anderson, Richard LePore, Robert Bray, Jim Bannon, Nelson Leigh, John McKee and Russ Bender.

Robert Pirosh’s screenplay is based on the story by producer Sy Bartlett.

A Gathering of Eagles is directed by Delbert Mann, runs 115 minutes, is made by Universal International Pictures, is released by Universal Pictures (1963) (US) and Rank Film Distributors (1963) (UK), is written by Robert Pirosh, based on the story by Sy Bartlett, is shot by Russell Harlan (Eastman Color by Pathé), is produced by Sy Bartlett, is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and designed by Alexander Golitzen and Harry Bumstead.

It was released in 2015 in the US on DVD in the Universal Vault Series.

Mary Peach was born on October 20, 1934 in Durban, South Africa, and married to Hammer Studios writer, producer and director Jimmy Sangster, from 1995 till his death on 19 August 2011. Her last film is Cutthroat Island (1995).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,025

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