This interesting and epic film is often mistakenly described as being intended as an allegory for the Vietnam War and the political climate of American imperialism . A three-hour action/drama picture , set in China 50 years ago ; this film's opening prologue states: "CHINA 1926 . Ravaged from within by corrupt warlords ,oppressed from without by the great world powers who had beaten China to her knees a century before ; China, a country of factions trying to unite to become a nation through revolution . Engineer Jake Holman (Steve McQueen , though first choice to play him was Paul Newman) , arrives aboard the gunboat U.S.S. San Pablo, he is a ¨loner¨ seaman who is a newcomer to the crew assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China when Chinese communists take on nationalists and subsequent attacks to foreign people . He become aware of the violent climate , tension and threats over crew and missionaries . As revolutionaries have begun open violence against Americans in Nanking. There he falls in love with a missionary teacher (a newcomer actress Candice Bergen) and finds himself at odds with his command structure , captain (Richard Crenna) and seamen . Frenchy Burgoyne (Richard Attenborough) is the only member of the crew with whom Jake forms any real attachment . This is a story of men who disturbed the sleeping dragon of China as the world watched in terror.
This exciting as well as epic film blends noisy action , romance , spectacular sea battles , fights and results to pretty entertaining , though overlong . It has its moments combining sensitive scenes with breathtaking warlike frames . The treatment of this tale can be seen as commentary on the situation in Vietnam at the time of the movie's release . However , Richard McKenna, the author of the best-selling novel on which the film was based, served on U.S. Navy gunboats in China during the 1930's and based the book on his own experiences . The Vietnam War allegory, perhaps inevitably, was ascribed to the film by the press on it's release in 1966, although not the original intention of the author, screenwriter, or director . Very good acting by Steve McQueen as a sailor of an old gunboat now doing duty on the Yangtze river . Considered to be one of McQueen's best performance , he got his only nomination for an Academy Award , Best Actor, for this film . Also featured are Candice Bergen as an American woman who has arrived in China at a mission along with Larry Gates , Richard Crenna as a doubtful commandant and a motley plethora of secondaries as American actors : Charles Robinson , Simon Oakland , Joe Turkel , Gus Trikonis , Gavin MacLeod of Love Boat, as Chinese players : Mako , James Hong and Richard Loo . Special mention to Richard Attenborough as a seaman who falls in love for a new prostitute , Emmanuelle Arsan writer of erotic Emmanuel series and originates tense as well as sensitive moments . Richard deservedly won Golden Globe 67 support cast . Rousing score by maestro Jerry Goldsmith , when original composer Alex North fell ill, 20th Century Fox exercised their right to pull their contract composer Jerry Goldsmith from another studio's assignment- MGM's Grand Prix . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Joseph MacDonald , this Twentieth Century Fox release marked their switch from their own Cinemascope process to Panavisión .
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Robert Wise . He was a successful director of all kind genres as musical as ¨West side story¨, ¨The sound of music¨ , Sci-fi as ¨The day the earth stood still¨, ¨Star Trek : the motion picture ¨, ¨The Andromeda strain¨ , Terror as ¨The body snatchers¨ , ¨ Curse of the cat people¨, ¨Audrey Rose¨ , ¨The haunting¨ , Western as ¨Blood on the moon¨, ¨Tribute to a bad man¨, Epic or colossal as ¨Elen of Troy¨ and wartime as ¨The desert rats¨. ¨Run silent , run deep¨ , ¨Hinderburg¨ and this ¨The sand pebbles¨.
This exciting as well as epic film blends noisy action , romance , spectacular sea battles , fights and results to pretty entertaining , though overlong . It has its moments combining sensitive scenes with breathtaking warlike frames . The treatment of this tale can be seen as commentary on the situation in Vietnam at the time of the movie's release . However , Richard McKenna, the author of the best-selling novel on which the film was based, served on U.S. Navy gunboats in China during the 1930's and based the book on his own experiences . The Vietnam War allegory, perhaps inevitably, was ascribed to the film by the press on it's release in 1966, although not the original intention of the author, screenwriter, or director . Very good acting by Steve McQueen as a sailor of an old gunboat now doing duty on the Yangtze river . Considered to be one of McQueen's best performance , he got his only nomination for an Academy Award , Best Actor, for this film . Also featured are Candice Bergen as an American woman who has arrived in China at a mission along with Larry Gates , Richard Crenna as a doubtful commandant and a motley plethora of secondaries as American actors : Charles Robinson , Simon Oakland , Joe Turkel , Gus Trikonis , Gavin MacLeod of Love Boat, as Chinese players : Mako , James Hong and Richard Loo . Special mention to Richard Attenborough as a seaman who falls in love for a new prostitute , Emmanuelle Arsan writer of erotic Emmanuel series and originates tense as well as sensitive moments . Richard deservedly won Golden Globe 67 support cast . Rousing score by maestro Jerry Goldsmith , when original composer Alex North fell ill, 20th Century Fox exercised their right to pull their contract composer Jerry Goldsmith from another studio's assignment- MGM's Grand Prix . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Joseph MacDonald , this Twentieth Century Fox release marked their switch from their own Cinemascope process to Panavisión .
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Robert Wise . He was a successful director of all kind genres as musical as ¨West side story¨, ¨The sound of music¨ , Sci-fi as ¨The day the earth stood still¨, ¨Star Trek : the motion picture ¨, ¨The Andromeda strain¨ , Terror as ¨The body snatchers¨ , ¨ Curse of the cat people¨, ¨Audrey Rose¨ , ¨The haunting¨ , Western as ¨Blood on the moon¨, ¨Tribute to a bad man¨, Epic or colossal as ¨Elen of Troy¨ and wartime as ¨The desert rats¨. ¨Run silent , run deep¨ , ¨Hinderburg¨ and this ¨The sand pebbles¨.