During the war in Vietnam, many felt that they could not make a film that directly commented on that war because of the strong emotions of the American people against their young men being over there in the first place. Instead, filmmakers who wanted to tackle the subject mostly did so through the use of allegory or veiling the story in other ways. Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, for instance, set the drama in the Korean War, but we all knew it was really a commentary on Vietnam, a truth that got the film banned from Army bases at the time. Science fiction shows like Star Trek would tackle Vietnam by changing the setting to another planet, but they weren’t fooling anyone, either.
The Sand Pebbles, though based on a 1962 novel by the same name, is Robert Wise’s attempt to talk about Vietnam. It’s a bold move to tackle the South-East Asia conflict so soon after the start of the war as well as immediately following his last film, which tackled Nazi-occupied Austria. Robert Wise is using another situation as a means to cover these topics without specifically calling out Vietnam, in this case, the 1926 Chinese Civil War and the unwelcome English and American gunboats patrolling Chinese waterways. In the case of this situation, those American soldiers present were not likely to have anything meaningful to say about the Civil War other than the shifting of public opinion on their presence; the film avoids showing anything from the Chinese side of the situation. It makes for a story that is a bit distanced from things and therefore says little about the conflict itself.
Instead, what we are seeing is more about the soldiers’ interactions with the locals, their overall feelings about the Chinese, including the coolies used to do most of the duties onboard the ships, and the rising tensions between those vying for power over the citizens and the rest. This is a small-scale portrayal of culture and colonialism seen through the sailors and how they relate to the Chinese who serve them, both on and off duty.
Our point-of-view character is Navy Machinist Mate First Class Jake Holman (Steve McQueen), who has just transferred to the Yangtze River Patrol gunboat USS San Pablo as their new engineer. He immediately causes problems amongst the coolies by not accepting them as his work crew. Instead, he takes personal responsibility for the engine room, superseding the Chinese man who has been the chief engine-room worker. Not long afterwards, an engine malfunction, caused by a problem Holman noticed but the captain refused to repair, leads to the death of the Chinese engineering leader. Lop-eye Shing (an uncredited Henry Wang), leader of all the Chinese workers onboard, blames Holman for the accident. The captain of the San Pablo, Collins (Richard Crenna), tells Holman that he must find a Chinese replacement, so he chooses the simple but genial Po-han (Mako).
Meanwhile, while on shore leave at a bar and brothel, Frenchy (Richard Attenborough), a fellow sailor and Holman’s friend, finds himself drawn towards a high-priced virgin named Maily (Marayat Andriane), who is being offered out to anyone willing to pay $200 for her. This price dissuades the other sailors who don’t make enough to justify that price. But Frenchy discovers that that price represents the debt she must pay to gain her freedom. He decides that he will find a way to raise that money and set her free. Around this time, tensions start to rise with a Chinese mob after British warships fight a battle with Chinese warlords on the Yangtze River.
When the Chinese Civil War breaks out, the San Pablo is ordered to remain neutral, though they are allowed to rescue stranded Americans upriver. Po-han, sent ashore by Shing, is captured and tortured within sight of the San Pablo, prompting Holman to defy orders and shoot him from the ship to end his slow and brutal death at the hands of the mob. On shore, the locals are vocal with their disdain for the sailors, yelling at them and pelting them with produce while they extricate Jameson (Larry Gates), a missionary, and Shirley (Candice Bergen). Frenchy tries to buy off Maily’s debt, but this turns south when her debtor, Victor Shu (James Hong) puts her up for auction instead. He rescues her anyway, but their happiness is unlikely to last long, especially when the captain is forced to cancel all shore leave amidst the rising unrest.
The story takes place in the 1920s. A sad reality of this timeframe is the casual and pervasive racism on display. This is not relegated to just the antagonists, either. Holman makes frequent use of racial slurs throughout, especially early on. While this is accurate to the time this is taking place, some viewers will find this kind of language offensive and have a hard time getting behind Holman. That is an intentional choice that Robert Wise has made, showing us that Holman isn’t a particularly good person, especially early on. Holman was a juvenile delinquent who turned an aptitude for engineering into a career in the Navy and, though he is good at his work, he doesn’t instill loyalty in his fellow sailors. When the Chinese mobs are wanting the Navy to turn Holman over to them, many of the other sailors are calling for him to be turned over. We only really see his character soften when he begins training Po-han and the two gain a bit of respect for each other.
Holman’s budding relationship with Shirley softens him a little, too, and their time together is a welcome diversion in this otherwise overly serious film. Even the scenes with Frenchy and Maily, as charming as they are, feel surrounded in dread. Like Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki in Sayonara, we feel early on that this can only end in tragedy. How that happens is surprising, though, and is played perfectly by Attenborough and Andriane.
Everything we see in this film comes from the American point of view, giving us a rather limited understanding of the political and emotional circumstances of the uprising and civil war. Action fans will be disappointed that the American sailors are humiliated and held back, never taking up arms to defend themselves. There is precious little action or gunplay for a film about war. The ending is pessimistic, too, with no heroic saving the day moment. Holman steps up to defend his fellow men, and while the gesture is heroic, the results are not. Even he is surprised that it doesn’t all play out in the end. This can be seen as Wise commenting on the overall pessimistic view on the war in Vietnam and our part in it.
This is a film that really shouldn’t be as long as it is. It’s meant to be an epic war film, but there isn’t enough meat on these bones to justify it. This is an unfortunate side effect of the popularity of roadshow productions of the time. In fact, the roadshow version of this film is even longer by another twelve minutes; these scenes were recently discovered and added back into the film for some versions. None of these additions adds anything but time to the final product, though, and are only there for fans of the picture.
This is Steve McQueen’s most nuanced performance, which is one of the only reasons to revisit this film after sixty years. He had a natural way about him that lent well to characters like this and kept us watching him, even when he was doing and saying repellant things. Ultimately, though, this isn’t a particularly good movie. It’s trying too hard to be relevant in the face of the rising tensions in Vietnam while not outright taking a direct stance on that conflict. The result is a film that isn’t a one-on-one comparison to the then topical situation in Asia. It has plenty of good moments and doesn’t lack for memorable set-pieces, but the parts don’t make for a great whole and the film feels plodding and slow, never quite reaching the highs it was aiming for.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Robert Wise
Best Actor: Steve McQueen
Best Supporting Actor: Mako
Best Art Direction - Color: Boris Leven, Walter M. Scott, John Sturtevant, and William Kiernan
Best Cinematography - Color: Joseph MacDonald
Best Film Editing: William Reynolds
Best Original Music Score: Jerry Goldsmith
Best Sound: James Corcoran
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Release Date: December 20, 1966
Running Time: 182 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, and Marayat Andriane
Directed by: Robert Wise
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