The Sand Pebbles

🎬 Movie

The Sand Pebbles

1966 · 196 min Drama War

⭐ 7.2 / 10 · TMDB

Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat USS San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the 'rice-bowl' system which runs the ship and the uneasy symbiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.

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🎬 MovieFinder's Take

This is quietly operating cinema. No big events, no crisis turns — just people and how they live through what happens to them.

Strengths: atmosphere, actors, accuracy of detail. Weaknesses: the pace isn't for everyone, the ending may feel unresolved.

For people who watch films for feeling, not entertainment.

Director: Robert Wise

— MovieFinder Editorial

🕯️

Best Watched

Viewing atmosphere: An evening when your mind is at peace. With someone you can sit in silence with after. Wine or tea.

🎭 Cast

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen

Jake Holman

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

Frenchy Burgoyne

Richard Crenna

Richard Crenna

Captain Collins

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen

Shirley Eckert

Mako

Mako

Po-han

Larry Gates

Larry Gates

Jameson

Charles Robinson

Charles Robinson

Ensign Bordelles

Simon Oakland

Simon Oakland

Stawski

Ford Rainey

Ford Rainey

Harris

Joe Turkel

Joe Turkel

Bronson

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💬 Audience Reviews

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