Gunboat Patrol in China - 1926
DVD Collector, admirer of great storytelling, Naval Action Fan, Fan of Superb Productions
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MAR
1
2008
The Sand Pebbles —
The Sand Pebbles (1966)The Sand Pebbles is a great Naval movie. It contains some of Steve McQueen's best acting and, underrated Richard Crenna's greatest performance.
The plot concerns a US Navy gunboat in 1926 on patrol duty on the great rivers of China. The boat is there to show the flag and protect the US concessions in China.
Steve McQueen is a new replacement on board, Jake Holman, a mechanic who tends the engines of the aging San Pablo - The Sand Pebbles, as the sailors call it. McQueen has had eight transfers in his nine-year career, so he's perceived as a troublemaker, even though he's managed to attain the rank of Petty Officer. McQueen's prickly character alienates the Chinese coolies who do all the real work aboard ship, his fellow crewmen, and the officers, all of whom wonder why he's "rocking the boat."
Richard Crenna plays the heroic Captain Collins, an old-school Naval Officer. Collins is always waiting ready in the wings but never gets the opportunity to play the hero. This is 1926 China, the inter-war period, with strong man Chiang-Kai-Shek nominally in charge with the Communists nipping at his heels. The U.S. has a gunboat to protect its concession in China. They want no incidents, just a continual show of force. This is accomplished by the aging San Pablo steaming endlessly up and down the river, laying thick clouds of black smoke, the stars and stripes whipping in the breeze.
Captain Collins sublimates his desires for action by daily drills where the crew "repels boarders" showing force to keep the Chinese properly cowed. All manual work aboard ship is performed by Chinese coolies, because "that's the way it's always been done." McQueen, of course, upsets the whole time-honored system by wanting to run the engine himself.
The Communists want to overthrow Chiang, so they manufacture an incident when an American sailor impregnated a Chinese girl; it's Yankee go home! To emphasize the point, the ChiComms kill the girl and McQueen's engine room protege, whom they call a tool of the "imperialist running dogs". McQueen mercifully shoots Mako to death as he is subjected to the death of a thousand cuts, in a gruesome mock crucifixion.
The ending is especially sobering with Crenna, McQueen, and company on a rescue mission to save the American missionaries upriver at China Lights. Splendid battle scenes provide Crenna ample room for heroics and he does fulfill his dream of becoming a hero. For Steve McQueen, he is left wondering, "What the hell happened?" Utterly absorbing.
Directed by Robert Wise, The Sand Pebbles is a triumph of beautiful photography, by Jerry MacDonald, showing many scenes of the ship steaming majestically up the waterways and gritty sequences of work and play in the nearby barrooms when the crew have their infrequent liberties. The Jerry Goldsmith score is a perfect mate for the visual experience.
The Fox DVD is presented in 2.35:1 theatrical format, in color, and has a full length commentary by director Robert Wise, and actors Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, and Mako. There are also several radio spots, subtitles, and the theatrical trailer as extras.
The Sand Pebbles is recommended by GeorgeChabot
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