5 Best Things About the Movie "The Sand Pebbles"
Steve McQueen is Nominated for an Oscar in this Terrific Adaptation from Book to Film
If you are looking for a terrific movie about the vintage Navy, allow me to recommend The Sand Pebbles, made in 1966. If you are looking for an excellent book about the vintage Navy, allow me to recommend The Sand Pebbles, published in 1962. They are both that good. Many smart decisions were made in adapting this story about pre-World War II gunboat service in China from book to film. Here are five decisions that went right:
5 Best Things About the Movie “The Sand Pebbles”
1. Casting
As movie buffs, we are lucky Sean Connery was living at the right time and place to play the role of James Bond, just as we are lucky Clark Gable was living at the right time and place to play the role of Rhett Butler. Add to our good fortune that Steve McQueen was there at the right time and place to fill the role of Mechanic’s Mate Jake Holman. He was tailor-made to portray this taciturn, conscientious loner grappling with personal and political dilemmas. McQueen received his only Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in recognition of this work.
2. Location
Depicting China in the 1920s, The Sand Pebbles was filmed on location in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The production endured punishing weather, damage to essential equipment and fierce enforcement of Chinese taxes in order to capture authenticity of location on screen.
3. Director
It might be surprising to see Robert Wise in the director’s chair of an epic war adventure. The same Robert Wise known for directing musicals? Yes, but consider the scale of his musicals like West Side Story and The Sound of Music. They were epic themselves. Wise built a reputation for exceptional preparation, no matter what genre he was directing, and his talent was a great match for The Sand Pebbles.
4. Adaptation
Author Richard McKenna (not to be confused with actor Richard Crenna in the cast) drew from experience when he wrote his only novel, The Sand Pebbles published in 1962 about a U.S. Navy gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River in the era between world wars. The 600-page tale is a terrific book and loses none of its impact in its adaptation to film by playwright Robert Anderson. Clearly Anderson had respect for the source material and he didn’t stray with the screenplay.
5. Technical Advisor
Again, the right person in the right capacity. Former child actor turned navy aviator Frank Coghlan Jr. was technical advisor on the film. Coghlan joined the navy as a pilot in 1942 and by the time he retired at the rank of Lieutenant Commander in 1965, he had clocked 4,500 hours of flight time. His contribution to the visual accuracy of navy detail in the production is outstanding.
Pop Quiz: What cast member of The Sand Pebbles also appeared in McHale’s Navy? Answer is in the next blog.
Thank you for the recommendation! It's not often that a movie stays true to the book. I appreciate the detail on why the movie is so well done.