{"id":8045,"date":"2009-07-16T13:14:46","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T20:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8045"},"modified":"2021-01-05T15:28:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T22:28:46","slug":"sand-pebbles-the-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8045","title":{"rendered":"Sand Pebbles, The (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Hello, engine; I&#8217;m Jake Holman.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster-194x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-61777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster-194x300.png 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster-662x1024.png 662w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster-174x270.png 174w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Poster.png 719w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA naval engineer (Steve McQueen) onboard an American gunboat in 1920s China finds himself at odds with his strait-laced captain (Richard Crenna).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Candice Bergen Films<\/li>\n<li>China<\/li>\n<li>Historical Drama<\/li>\n<li>Race Relations<\/li>\n<li>Richard Attenborough Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Wise Films<\/li>\n<li>Sailors<\/li>\n<li>Steve McQueen Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nA year after winning an Oscar as best director for <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24471\"><em>The Sound of Music<\/em> (1965)<\/a>, Robert Wise helmed this epic historical military flick, based on a <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Sand_Pebbles\">bestselling novel by Richard McKenna<\/a>. Critics at the time of its release were understandably distracted by the screenplay&#8217;s obvious parallels with the United States&#8217; involvement in the Vietnam War; these days, it&#8217;s easier to accept the story on its own merits. Steve McQueen gave one of his best, most introspective performances in the central role of Jake Holman &#8212; a soldier genuinely &#8220;in love&#8221; with engines, who situates his integrity as a man within his ability to care for them effectively. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-1024x440.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"275\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-1024x440.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-768x330.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-1536x661.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine-604x260.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-Engine.png 1811w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To that end, his insistence on rigorous maintenance while aboard the San Pablo becomes the catalyst driving two key narrative threads: his contentious relationship with his superior (Crenna, whose only interest lies in continuing to manifest a strong American &#8220;presence&#8221; in China), and the racial tensions that ensue when he tries to take over responsibilities traditionally handled by Chinese &#8220;coolies&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-1024x441.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"276\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-1536x661.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies-604x260.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Coolies.png 1823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Given its lengthy running time (nearly 3 hours) and epic ambitions, there&#8217;s a lot more going on in <em>The Sand Pebbles<\/em> than &#8220;just&#8221; Jake&#8217;s identity as a naval engineer. His inevitable romantic interest is played by Candice Bergen (just 19 years old!) as a do-gooding teacher &#8212; but the primary romantic subplot is filled by Jake&#8217;s shipmate Richard Attenborough and his Eurasian flame Maily (Emmanuelle Arsan), whose &#8220;forbidden&#8221; love affair has tragic consequences. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-1024x439.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"274\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-1024x439.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-768x330.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-1536x659.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2-604x259.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance2.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-1024x437.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"273\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-1024x437.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-768x328.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-1536x655.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance-604x258.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Romance.png 1835w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, there are plenty of exciting action sequences sprinkled throughout, and Joseph MacDonald&#8217;s cinematography brings the Chinese landscape to vibrant life. But the film isn&#8217;t uniformly entertaining: the story immediately begins to drag whenever Attenborough and Arsan&#8217;s romance is given screentime, and despite an initial attempt at humanizing the Chinese (as evidenced in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mako_(actor)\">Mako<\/a>&#8216;s Oscar-nominated performance as a doomed &#8220;coolie&#8221; who briefly befriends McQueen), they ultimately turn into an amorphous mass of &#8220;Others&#8221;. Nonetheless, McQueen&#8217;s impressive performance is reason enough for film fanatics to check this film out at least once. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Wise was apparently so proud of his work on this film that he hosted annual cast reunions for years after its release; click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesandpebbles.com\/\">here<\/a> for a website devoted exclusively to the film. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Steve McQueen as Jake Holman (McQueen&#8217;s performance earned him his only Academy Award nomination)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-1024x441.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"276\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen-604x260.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-McQueen.png 1841w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Beautiful on-location cinematography (by Joseph MacDonald)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-1024x438.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"274\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-1024x438.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-768x329.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-1536x658.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3-604x259.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sand-Pebbles-Location3.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for Steve McQueen&#8217;s Oscar-nominated performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0060934\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1966\/12\/21\/archives\/screen-the-sand-pebbles-begins-its-run-at-rivolipicture-offers.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s213pebbles.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-sand-pebbles\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesandpebbles.com\/\"><em>The Sand Pebbles<\/em> Website<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Hello, engine; I&#8217;m Jake Holman.&#8221; Synopsis: A naval engineer (Steve McQueen) onboard an American gunboat in 1920s China finds himself at odds with his strait-laced captain (Richard Crenna). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Candice Bergen Films China Historical Drama Race Relations Richard Attenborough Films Robert Wise Films Sailors Steve McQueen Films Review: A year after winning an Oscar as best director for The Sound of Music (1965), Robert Wise helmed this epic historical military flick, based on a bestselling novel&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=8045\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8045"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61790,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8045\/revisions\/61790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}