The Sand Pebbles (1966)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Richard McKenna (novel)
Robert Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

THE STORY OF MEN...men who disturbed the sleeping dragon of China as the world watched in terror!

Plot:

Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat U.S.S. San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of...

Plot Keywords:

China | Gunboat | Missionary | Chinese | Battle

Awards:

Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Jake Holman
Candice Bergen	...	Shirley Eckert
Richard Attenborough	...	Frenchy Burgoyne
Richard Crenna	...	Captain Collins
Emmanuelle Arsan	...	Maily (as Marayat Andriane)
Mako	...	Po-han
Larry Gates	...	Jameson
Charles Robinson	...	Ensign Bordelles
Simon Oakland	...	Stawski
Ford Rainey	...	Harris
Joe Turkel	...	Bronson
Gavin MacLeod	...	Crosley
Joe Di Reda	...	Shanahan (as Joseph di Reda)
Richard Loo	...	Major Chin
Barney Phillips	...	Franks
Gus Trikonis	...	Restorff
Shepherd Sanders	...	Perna
James Jeter	...	Farren
Tom Middleton	...	Jennings
Paul Chun	...	Cho-jen (as Paul Chinpae)
Tommy Lee	...	Chien
Beulah Quo	...	Mama Chunk
James Hong	...	Victor Shu
Stephen Jahn	...	Haythorn
Alan Hopkins	...	Wilsey (as Jay Allan Hopkins)
Stephen Ferry	...	Lamb (as Steve Ferry)
Ted Fish	...	Wellbeck
Loren Janes	...	Coleman
Glenn R. Wilder	...	Waldron (as Glenn Wilder)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Coghlan Jr.	...	Bald bespectacled man at Red Kettle Bar (uncredited)
Larry Duran	...	Brawler at Red Kettle Bar (uncredited)
Robert Kelly-Schleyer	...	Bosun's Mate (uncredited)
Jon Lormer	...	Hamilton (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	...	Customer at Red Kettle Bar (uncredited)
Walter Reed	...	Bidder at Red Kettle Bar (uncredited)
Henry Wang	...	Lop-eye Shing (uncredited)
Ben Wright	...	Englishman (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Wise

Writing credits
Richard McKenna		(novel)
Robert Anderson		(screenplay)

Produced by
Charles H. Maguire	....	associate producer (as Charles Maguire)
Robert Wise	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Joseph MacDonald

Film Editing by
William Reynolds

Production Design by
Boris Leven

Set Decoration by
William Kiernan
Walter M. Scott
John Sturtevant

Costume Design by
Renié		(as Renie)

Makeup Department
Del Acevedo	....	makeup artist
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
William Turner	....	makeup artist (as Bill Turner)
Sharleen Rassi	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Jay Sebring	....	hair designer: Steve McQueen (uncredited)

Production Management
Saul Wurtzel	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ridgeway Callow	....	assistant director
Charles H. Maguire	....	second unit director (as Charles Maguire)
Robert F. Liu	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Herbert Cheek	....	location construction supervisor
Tom Jung	....	graphic designer (uncredited)
Dong Kingman	....	watercolor artist (uncredited)
Dennis J. Parrish	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound
Murray Spivack	....	sound
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound

Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects
Gerald Endler	....	special effects (as Jerry Endler)
Emil Kosa Jr.	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
Travis Dutch	....	digital restoration scanning (restored version)

Stunts
Larry Duran	....	stunts (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunt double: Steve McQueen (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Saito	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dick Johnson	....	photographer: second unit (as Richard Johnson)
Thomas Del Ruth	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Dave Friedman	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Clyde Taylor	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ed Wynigear	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
David Bernstein	....	colorist: digitally restored version (uncredited)

Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	conductor
David Tamkin	....	orchestrator
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Harley Misiner	....	technical advisor
Irving Schwartz	....	diversions
Maurice Zuberano	....	production associate
Alan Callow	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Robert Wise Productions
• Solar Productions
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Film (1967) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1971) (USA) (TV)
• Fox-Stockholm Film Distribution (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS) (pan-and-scan)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Centfox (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• SF Home Entertainment (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• SF Home Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual material (re-rating) (2000)

Runtime:

182 min | UK:243 min (BBFC submission before censorship) | Sweden:193 min | USA:196 min (roadshow version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2000) | West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | Singapore:PG | Norway:11 (DVD rating) (2006) | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #21310) (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:PG-13 | UK:12 (2007)

Filming Locations:

Taipei City, Taiwan

Company:

Robert Wise Productions

Trivia:

This film's opening prologue states: "CHINA 1926 . . . Ravaged from within by corrupt warlords . . . oppressed from without by the great world powers who had beaten China to her knees a century before . . . China . . . a country of factions trying to unite to become a nation . . . through revolution . . . "

Goofs:

Factual errors: During one of the scenes where the San Pablo is in danger of being boarded by hostile Chinese, the crewmen are issued Springfield rifles. But they are not given any ammunition belts. Even if the rifles were loaded, which they would not normally be while in storage, they would hold only five cartridges (six with a round in the chamber). Such a limited supply of ammo would not have been enough to turn back the large number of Chinese if they had attempted to board the ship.

Quotes:

[Jake Holman (Machinist Mate 1st Class ) teaching Po-han (Engine Room coolie) the engine room]
Jake Holman:Valve.
Po-han:Wow.
Jake Holman:Valve.
Po-han:Wow.
[points to valve, more emphatically]
Po-han:Wow.
Jake Holman:Yeah, okay... wow.
[pointing to another valve]
Jake Holman:Main steam stop valve.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Monster Squad Forever! (2007) (V)

Strong Epic Film Which Got Shafted At Oscar Night

What a powerful story! It's hard to believe this epic movie - three hours in length - was nominated for eight Academy Awards and came away with nothing. It seems unjust. Well, not everything is "just" in this dramatic story, either. Good people die, bad people live. Incredible joy and sorrow are but a few minutes away. The story is well-told and thus keeps your attention, is well-acted and is nicely- filmed.

My only complaint was the last 13 minutes when the film got a little too political and, of course, tilted to the Left as films tend to do. Otherwise, I throughly enjoyed the experience of watching this long movie, and sorry I didn't watch this years ago. Well, better late than never, is all I can say. This movie is worthy of any serious film collector's attention.

Robert Wise directed and he did a fabulous job. I just love some of the shots and camera angles in this widescreen production, which was done justice in a recently--released two- disc DVD. The cinematography was by Joseph MacDonald. I'm sorry he didn't win an Oscar.

The story has something for everyone: several action scenes, two romances, a little humor, some flag waving and flag disparaging, and a lot of drama and intrigue. I also found two interesting character studies: "Jake Holman," by lead actor Steve McQueen, and "Captain Collins-," with Richard Crenna. Both men delivered numerous surprises.

There also is a lot of hostility by the Chinese toward the "invaders," the Americans. China's revolution during the period this story takes place (md '20s) had two factions: the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, and the Communists. The former was generally a peaceful organization, the latter, pretty violent. Neither one wanted outsiders running their country any longer.

The cast - well-known and not-so well--known, was solid from McQueen on down. I think it was odd to hear Richard Attenborugh with an American accent but he did a nice job with it. Crenna played the most interesting character, in my opinion, as captain hard to figure. As for the supporting actors, Simon Oakland ("Stawski") and Mako ("Po-han") stood out to me.

I'm not going get into the story, as enough reviewers have already done that. Photograhy-wise, it was nice to see most of this shot outdoors, not on some studio lot or sound-stage. I enjoyed all of the shots of the ship, the "San Pablo." Having just bought (7/5/10) the Blu-Ray edition of this film, I'm anxious to see it in this format now. It promises to be a treat.

Overall, a memorable story and highly-recommended.