The Sand Pebbles

The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American epic war film directed by Robert Wise in Panavision. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist's mate, first class, aboard the fictional river gunboat USS San Pablo, on Yangtze Patrol in 1920s China. The film features Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, Mako, Simon Oakland, Larry Gates, and Marayat Andriane. Robert Anderson adapted the screenplay from the 1962 novel of the same name by Richard McKenna. The Sand Pebbles was a critical and commercial success at its general release. It became the fourth highest-grossing film of 1966 and was nominated for eight Academy Awards and eight Golden Globe Awards, with Attenborough winning the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Plot In 1926, during China's Warlord Era, Jake Holman transfers to the Yangtze River Patrol gunboat USS San Pablo as their new engineer. The ship is nicknamed the "Sand Pebble" and its sailors are "Sand Pebbles".