{"id":16206,"date":"2022-05-18T17:49:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T21:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=16206"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:15:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:15:39","slug":"the-sand-pebbles-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=16206","title":{"rendered":"The Sand Pebbles-1966"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sand Pebbles-1966<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Robert Wise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,257<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed May 18, 2022<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1950s and 1960s can collectively be defined as the two decades that represent the grandiose film epic: instantly recognizable, sprawling, lengthy cinematic efforts that often span a period of time.<\/p>\n

The Sand Pebbles (1966) safely falls into this category, mainly because it’s a war film and one minute shy of a three-hour extravaganza.<\/p>\n

The film was a critical and commercial success at its release and received several Academy Award nominations (see more below). Still, despite being a fantastic watch, it is not remembered as well as one might expect.<\/p>\n

Something makes the film fly under the radar, and I’m unsure why. It might be that an anti-war message film was not as typical as it would become. In 1966, a United States movement had only begun to question the government and war in general.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t fantastic or acceptable yet.<\/p>\n

Robert Anderson adapted the screenplay from Richard McKenna’s 1962 novel, which is very similar.<\/p>\n

Robert Wise, famous for directing the memorable The Sound of Music just a year earlier in 1965 and the legendary West Side Story in 1961, is at the helm, delivering superior direction, especially in the exterior and lush, oceanic sequences.<\/p>\n

Star Steve McQueen was at the height of popularity when this film was made, which undoubtedly helped get butts in the seats to drool over the blue-eyed actor in his Navy attire.<\/p>\n

The Sand Pebbles has a heavier touch and promotes an anti-war viewpoint from its main character. Therefore, it delivers a strong message alongside the expected elements of a war film.<\/p>\n

It’s similar to The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), made nearly a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

The Asian locales and the parallels with the controversial Vietnam conflict of the time will not be lost on the viewer.<\/p>\n

We go back to 1926 when the USS San Pablo was patrolling the Yangtze River during the clashes between Chiang Kai-shek’s communists and Chinese warlords.<\/p>\n

Eight-year veteran machinist Jake Holman (McQueen), new to the self-named “sand pebbles” crew, immediately draws suspicion because of his independent streak.<\/p>\n

Ordered to protect Americans, including schoolteacher Shirley Eckhart (Candice Bergen), Jake and the gunboat crew are unwittingly drawn into a bitter nationalistic feud that holds grim consequences.<\/p>\n

Besides his unforgettable turn in The Getaway in 1972, this is McQueen’s finest role, and I’m not the biggest fan of his, nor do I think he is the most outstanding actor.<\/p>\n

He has tremendous material to work with in The Sand Pebbles and hits all the right notes throughout. The character is rootable and relatable.<\/p>\n

The film also presents a fascinating look at Navy life with the camaraderie and depth of the supporting characters.<\/p>\n

There is comedy and drama, and the additions of Richard Attenborough and Richard Crenna are stellar.<\/p>\n

Naturally, Bergen is McQueen’s romantic love interest, as Shirley and Jake have fledgling feelings for each other.<\/p>\n

Though the film ends abruptly, there is enough pain, death, and confusion to leave the viewer thinking afterward, and I always champion that aspect of the film.<\/p>\n

The Sand Pebbles (1966) is an underrated production that simmers beneath some other classics from the same decade but is a terrific watch for many reasons.<\/p>\n

Despite its timeliness, it has an old-world feel, representing a foray into the dangerous early-1970s cinema history that is yet to come.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Picture, Best Actor-Steve McQueen, Best Supporting Actor-Mako, Best Art Direction-Color, Best Cinematography-Color, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Sound<\/p>\n

Golden Globe Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>1 win-<\/strong>Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Director-Robert Wise, Best Actor-Drama-Steve McQueen, Best Supporting Actor-Richard Attenborough (won),<\/strong> Mako, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Most Promising Newcomer-Female-Candice Bergen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sand Pebbles-1966 Director Robert Wise Starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough Scott’s Review #1,257 Reviewed May 18, 2022 Grade: A- The 1950s and 1960s can collectively be defined as the two decades that represent the grandiose film epic: instantly recognizable, sprawling, lengthy cinematic efforts that often span a period of time. The Sand Pebbles (1966) … Continue reading The Sand Pebbles-1966<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,192,194,261,206],"tags":[1236,5950,5947,8413,12474,5949,12473,1234,5948,758,8690,669],"class_list":["post-16206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1966-films","category-dramas","category-epics","category-period-dramas","category-war-films","tag-candace-bergen","tag-emmanuelle-arsan","tag-gavin-macleod","tag-james-hong","tag-larry-gates","tag-mako","tag-marayat-andriane","tag-richard-attenborough","tag-richard-crenna","tag-robert-wise","tag-simon-oakland","tag-steve-mcqueen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16206"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24155,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16206\/revisions\/24155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}