A Gathering of Eagles is a 1963 SuperScope Eastmancolor film about the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War and the pressures of command. The plot is patterned after the World War II film Twelve O'Clock High, which producer-screenwriter Sy Bartlett also wrote, with elements also mirroring Above and Beyond and Toward the Unknown, films written by his collaborator, Beirne Lay Jr. The film was directed by Delbert Mann.
Rock Hudson plays a United States Air Force officer, Colonel Jim Caldwell, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52 wing commander. He must shape up his wing and men to pass a grueling operational readiness inspection (ORI) that the previous commander had failed and for which he had been relieved of his command. Caldwell is also recently married to an English wife, Victoria, and as a though commanding officer doing whatever he has to do to shape up his command, his wife sees a side to him that she had not seen before.
The film also stars Rod Taylor, Mary Peach, Barry Sullivan, Kevin McCarthy, Henry Silva, Robert Lansing, Leif Erickson, and Richard Anderson.
The Inspector General of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), Major General "Happy Jack" Kirby, lands unannounced at an Air Force Base in California, home to an important Strategic Aerospace Wing, and announces there will be an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) at no notice. His team discover many failings, and Kirby reports unfavourably to his superior, General Hewitt.
Hewitt decides that the wing commander must be replaced, and offers the prestigious job to his own aide, Colonel Jim Caldwell, who accepts gladly, especially as his vice-commander is to be an old and trusted friend Colonel Hollis Farr.
Caldwell immediately sees many reasons for the low standards of training and readiness, and institutes a number of harsh policies that bring him into conflict with Farr. Caldwell faces the unwelcome truth that Farr himself is too undisciplined, and gives him notice of dismissal. This causes a rift between Caldwell and his wife Victoria who thinks that her rumoured affair with Farr may have cost him his job.
While Caldwell is absent on a hospital visit, he is suddenly told of a genuine emergency on the base, as an unidentified aircraft is on final approach with no signal – a likely surprise ORI. Caldwell is unable to return in time to handle the critical opening stages and Farr assumes command, and successfully gets all bombers airborne, but only by breaking a key regulation, which could easily cause them to fail their inspection. When Kirby demands an explanation, Caldwell defends Farr, stating that he would have made the same call. To their surprise, Kirby admits that he too would have done the same, and that the wing has passed its all-important test, and it seems clear that Farr will retain his job after all.
During the ORI, Victoria does volunteer duty at the base hospital. A young airman awakes after surgery, and his first request is that she check that the ORI is progressing well. Once Caldwell and Victoria are both home, he apologizes for putting SAC first, and she explains that the airman made her realize how the entire base is focused on their critical work. They lovingly embrace.