 The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Rated: PG-13 for violence and sexual material.
Runtime: 179 mins.
Director: Robert Wise
Writer: Richard McKenna (novel), Robert Anderson (screnplay)
Cast: Steve McQueen, Candice Burgen, Richard Crenna, Mako....complete cast
Genre: Drama/Romance/War
Tagline: "This is the heroic story of the men on the U.S.S. San Pablo who disturbed the sleeping dragon of savage China as the threatened world watched in breathless terror"
Memorable Quote: "Main steam stop wow. " ... more quotes
Release Date: December 20, 1966
DVD Release Date: June 5, 2007
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| Reel commentary: ... an epic roadshow pic that many may find too long, but in the true character of the genre, director Wise utilizes the length of the movie to create a wonderful multi-layered composition of interesting characters, great story, and beautiful scenery... |
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Awards:
1967 Academy Award: Best Picture nominee
1967 Academy Award: Best Actor nominee: Steve McQueen
1967 Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor nominee: Mako
1967 Academy Award: Best Cinematography Color nominee
1967 Academy Award: Best Film Editing nominee
1967 Academy Award: Best Sound nominee
1967 Academy Award: Best Art Direction Color nominee
1967 Academy Award: Best Music Score nominee
by Frank Wilkins
20th Century Fox digs down deep into its foot locker of old 60's and 70's war pictures to release on DVD the critically acclaimed and industry recognized 1966 Robert Wise classic, The Sand Pebbles.
The movie takes place in 1926 China which, at the time, was a chaotic nation ruled by warlords and rebels fighting for power and foreign governments entangled in the politics of the burgeoning nation. Sound familiar? It was a very risky proposition to make a movie with such an obvious anti-war message at this time, what with the Viet Nam conflict beginning to rear its ugly head. This might explain its lack of Oscar wins despite its nomination in several categories, including best actor, best supporting actor, best art direction, best cinematography, best film editing, best original score, best picture and best sound. Anyone who tries to say that the Oscars are not contaminated with politics, I'll point them to this example.
The movie features Steve McQueen as Jake Holman, Machinist Mate First Class, a disgruntled nine-year military man with seven transfers during that nine-year span. He is transferred to the U.S.S. San Pablo, an American gunboat commissioned to patrol China's Yangtze River. He is commissioned as engineer in charge of the engine room, but is repulsed to see Chinese Coolies (laborers) actually running the engine room. He later learns that Coolies man almost all duty stations throughout the ship. The ship's no-nonsense captain, played by Richard Crenna, prefers it this way, as it allows him to allocate his men onto the deck of the boat to run their "repel boarders" drills and flag raising ceremonies giving a bigger show of military might to the Chinese people. Holman is soon befriended by his engine room trainee, Po-Han (Mako). We have some of the films most touching and funny moments during this relationship between the two, as Holman quizzes and teaches Po-Han the engine's main parts. Mako is brilliant as the somewhat stereotypical depiction of a Chinese coolie, but you will recognize him as a veteran of many films, including Seven Years in Tibet, Rising Sun, the wizard in Conan the Barbarian and as a Japanese soldier in many WWII films.
U.S.S San Pablo patrols the backwaters and tributaries of Mainland China, but the rebellion by the Chinese begins to take a nasty toll on the foreigners and missionaries. The boat's official orders are to not fire on the Chinese people, lest the students and rebels turn the incident into fuel to feed the anger of the population. The boat has no real mission and the self-indulging captain begins to lose the loyalty of his fellow peace-time soldiers. Much like in Apocolypse Now we see the boat and its crew running dangerously suicidal renegade missions in a land on the verge of major military eruption.
Holman falls for the lovely teacher/missionary Shirley, played by a 19-year old Candice Bergen in only her second credited movie role. He also befriends Frenchy, (Richard Attenborough) who falls in love with one of the town's brothel hostesses, Maily (Marayat Andriane). Attenborough struggles to mask his British accent but his chemistry with Marayat is quite convincing. Local dissidents use their affair and its aftermath as a reason to siege the ship and arrest its position in a political standoff.
On the verge of losing his men to a mutiny, the Captain takes the ship on an unauthorized mission up the Yangtze river to rescue Shirley and other isolated missionaries. Holman, somewhat sympathetic to the cause of the Chinese, finds himself fighting in the standoff for reasons he doesn't agree with.
The Sand Pebbles is an epic roadshow movie that many may find too long, but in the true character of the genre, director Wise utilizes the length of the movie to create a wonderful multi-layered composition of interesting characters, great story, beautiful scenery and a soundtrack that, while it definitely sounds dated, emphasizes the drama and action. The movie still speaks of a very realistic issue that parallel's today's international problems. It takes an American point of view but does not necessarily paint the controversy with a pro-American brush. It is a story of hopeless love and friendship surrounded by the danger and terror of a raging people.
While I'm not sure of the intended message of the film, other than possibly being a reflection of what America was going through at the time, it definitely carries an anti-war sentiment that sticks a dagger straight into the heart of America's foreign policy. While filled with dated melodrama and sometimes simplistic and cliched dialogue, the movie is worthy of every Oscar nomination it received and is worth a look if for nothing else than the performance of McQueen himself.
Frank Wilkins
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Screen formats: Widescreen 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Closed Captioned
Sound: English: Dolby Digital 4.0; English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French: Dolby Digital Mono
Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; theatrical trailer; commentary by director Robert Wise, Candice Bergan and Mako; 2 radio documentaries; 3 radio spots; still gallery
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| Steve McQueen......... |
Jake Holman Machinist Mate 1st Class |
| Richard Attenborough.......... |
Frenchy Burgoyne Machinist Mate 2nd Class |
| Richard Crenna |
Captain Collins |
| Candice Bergen.......... |
Shirley Eckert, Teacher at China Light |
| Emmanuelle Arsan.......... |
Maily, prostitute |
| Mako.......... |
Po-han, Engine Room coolie |
| Larry Gates.......... |
Jameson, Missionary at China Light |
| Charles Robinson....... |
Ensign Bordelles |
| Simon Oakland.......... |
Stawski |
| Ford Rainey.......... |
Harris, Electrician |
| Joe Turkel......... |
Bronson |
| Gavin McLoed .......... |
Crosley |
| Joe Di Reda ......... |
Shanahan |
| Richard Loo .......... |
Major Chin, Chinese Nationalist Army |
| Barney Phillips ........ |
Chief Petty Officer Franks |
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