IMDb > The Sand Pebbles (1966)
The Sand Pebbles
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The Sand Pebbles (1966) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   4,669 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Richard McKenna (novel)
Robert Anderson (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Sand Pebbles on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 December 1966 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
THE STORY OF MEN...men who disturbed the sleeping dragon of China as the world watched in terror! more
Plot:
Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat U.S.S. San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 8 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 10 nominations more
User Comments:
Strong Epic Film Which Got Shafted At Oscar Night more (79 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Steve McQueen ... Jake Holman

Richard Attenborough ... Frenchy Burgoyne

Richard Crenna ... Captain Collins

Candice Bergen ... Shirley Eckert
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
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for violence and sexual material.
Runtime:
182 min | UK:243 min (BBFC submission before censorship) | Sweden:193 min | USA:196 min (roadshow version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Norway:11 (DVD rating) (2006) | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #21310) (original rating) | Brazil:14 | 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

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The engine used during the filming is now on display aboard the S.S. Lane Victory, an original WWII Victory ship currently on display at the Port of Los Angeles, next to the cruise ship lines. The engine is located below deck in a forward cargo hold. The S.S. Lane Victory is the only operational Victory Ship in the World in its original configuration and makes summer cruises from San Pedro to Catalina, complete with a staged aerial attack en route featuring the AT-6 Texans of the famed Condor Squadron of Van Nuys, California. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Just before shooting Po-Han with a Springfield rifle to put him out of his misery, Holman makes a long-range adjustment to the rifle's rear sight. Such an adjustment would not have been necessary, since Po-Han was fairly close to Holman. more
Quotes:
Po-han: Dead stim! more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 18 people found the following comment useful.
Strong Epic Film Which Got Shafted At Oscar Night, 29 August 2007
9/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

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." The new DVD sports an outstanding transfer. Audiby, i's advertised as 4.0 sound but there is no rear speaker audio in here, so 3.0 would be more accurate.

Overall, a memorable story and highly-recommended.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Sand Pebbles (1966)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I can't stand people my age. huggin_possums
End of movie-warning *spoiler* bm206996
Awful color needs to be restored. mrvolvo
What Happened to Stawski?? Salavas
the sand pebbles rhdado2002
Poor man's Lawrence of Arabia kkhsiivonen
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