command, and Farr brings it to a successful conclusion, 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. Cast Rock Hudson as Colonel James Caldwell, Commander, 904th Strategic Aerospace Wing (904th SAW) Rod Taylor as Colonel Hollis Farr, Vice Commander, 904th SAW Mary Peach as Victoria Caldwell, Caldwell's wife Barry Sullivan as Colonel William Fowler, Base Commander of Carmody Air Force Base Kevin McCarthy as Major General J. T. "Happy Jack" Kirby, SAC Inspector General Nelson Leigh as Brigadier General John Aymes, commander of the 904th SAW's parent Air Division Henry Silva as Colonel Joe "Smokin' Joe" Garcia, Deputy Commander for Maintenance, 904th SAW Leora Dana as Evelyn Fowler, Col Fowler's wife Robert Lansing as Senior Master Sergeant Banning, B-52 line chief Richard Le Pore as Staff Sergeant Kemler, boom operator on KC-135 tanker crew "Ramrod 67," who comes out of surgery in the base hospital asking how his crew did in the ORI. Ray Montgomery as Captain Linke, aircraft commander of B-52G bomber crew "Ranger 21" Richard Anderson as Colonel Ralph Josten, Deputy Commander for Operations, 904th SAW Leif Erickson as General Hewitt, Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC) Louise Fletcher as Mrs. Kemler, Sergeant Kemler's wife Production General Curtis LeMay, USAF (former head of the Strategic Air Command and serving at the time as Chief of Staff of the Air Force), used his considerable influence to allow Producer Sy Bartlett and Director Delbert Mann unprecedented access to various SAC facilities, in the belief that this film would play a vital role in reminding Americans that the Air Force did indeed have its weapons of mass destruction under tight control. Mann, a former World War II bomber pilot who had won an Academy Award for his first film (Marty), was eager to demonstrate that he could direct serious material and not merely light-hearted comedies which had not been nearly as well received. Filming was done at Beale Air Force Base, California, using the facilities, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Lockheed T-33 aircraft, Martin Marietta Titan I missile sites, and personnel