The Sand Pebbles (1966)
An historical drama set in 1929 on board the USS San Pablo, a gunship patrolling China’s Yangtze River. The movie tells the story of Jake Holman, a machinist’s mate who is transferred to the gunboat and finds himself at odds with how things are run by the ship’s Captain. The rise of the Chinese nationalists soon begins to threaten the foreign powers in the country and the ship’s captain sets out rescue the local American missionaries.
The Sand Pebbles was a film that director Robert Wise had wanted to make for years, but there was a reluctance to finance it. Once it was financed location scouting began, first along the Sacramento River in California. But Wise decided that only the Far East would do. Whilst pre-production work was begun it was realised that it would be up to a year before shooting began so Wise agreed to direct another movie in the meantime. The Sound of Music!
The Sand Pebbles was filmed both in Taiwan and in Hong Kong and seemed to be fraught with problems. Shooting was scheduled to take nine weeks instead it took seven months. A camera boat capsized ruining equipment. Crew morale was low, and due to unpaid taxes the Chinese government effectively held several members of the crew hostage, including Steve McQueen, and add to that McQueen had an abscessed molar that required him to take an extended period of rest.
Nominated for eight Academy awards including best picture and best actor, (McQueen’s only ever nomination), it failed to win any losing out to ‘A Man for all Seasons’ and Paul Scofield.
At nearly three hours it was nice to have an intermission in the middle!
