Don't listen to the negative reviews

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

THE SAND PEBBLES is one of those historical epics that were all the rage back in the 1960s. This one was directed by the great Robert Wise and features the equally great Steve McQueen in one of his less-remembered roles. He plays a sailor stationed on the Yangtze river who gets involved with a local uprising in the 1920s. The plot is fictional but there's a certain air of authenticity to the proceedings and a refreshing lack of the usual 'yellowface' make-up that mars such films. This doesn't have a huge cast, but there are nice turns from Richards Crenna and Attenborough, and a fine performance from a youthful Mako, no less, as McQueen's young buddy. The film suffers from an exceptionally slow first half, but it picks up to a surprisingly bleak climax that pays off in spades.

Having grown up with both the awkward, squeaky voiced Walter Denton of "Our Miss Brooks" and Luke McCoy of "The Real McCoys" what astounded me most about this very impressive film was the huge professional leap that Richard Crenna took in only a few, short years as a very complex and complicated Captain Collins. I can't remember any actor who made such a significant transformation in such a short period of time. Even Sally Field didn't jump from being the "Flying Nun" to "Norma Rae" until nearly ten years later when Hollywood declared that they "really, really liked her" by granting her an Oscar. After only a few years from being the amiable Luke McCoy, Crenna's remarkable performance here was most definitely Oscar worthy, and remember that "Wait Until Dark", another stellar effort by Crenna as the thug who was slowly falling in love with his beautiful, disabled victim, Audrey Hepburn, didn't appear on the screen until a year after this.Crenna's troubled (and very troubling!) character was only part of the film's ability to remain so watchable during its long three hours. The rest of the cast, led by a very magnetic Steve McQueen and a very talented Richard Attenborough, was outstanding. The story and the setting of political unrest in China during 1926 was very compelling, and Jerry Goldsmith's stirring musical score was the icing on the cake. For some reason, I never realize how much of a Steve McQueen fan I am until I start watching his films. This ranks as one of his very best.As to the film's very disturbing ending, I think that viewers will interpret it in accordance with their already established political philosophies, if they have any. Whether Captain Collins was actually ordered to rescue the missionaries at China Light remained unclear to me. What was clear to me was that these same missionaries did not want to be rescued in spite of the very real and obvious danger to their very lives, which transcended their specific political convictions. In the end, I felt much more emotionally drawn to Frenchy's Maily than to Jake's Shirley Eckert. I'm not sure if this was due to Bergen's acting ability or to the character itself. While Maily was an involuntary victim of circumstance, Shirley not only voluntarily chose to be in a very dangerous place but apparently resisted leaving in spite of the very real danger that surrounded her and the risk that her presence imposed upon the American sailors. For me, this difference made all the difference.

I love the music that is so reflective in this underrated sleeper, filmed on location in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Inside this delicate war epic lies a touching love story that is one of the best and most honest I have ever seen. The acting is good all around, especially Steve McQueen who is absolutely perfect as the lonely sailor who is torn between duty and conscience. His eyes and facial expressions say so much that you want to know more about his character. McQueen exudes a sadness that is very appealing.My only gripe is the way the sailors talk to the Chinese coolies. But I guess the director wanted to keep the movie authentic because this was how people talked back then. Because of this, the movie feels slightly outdated. However, all is forgiven because of McQueen's gentle and sympathetic performance.It is one of those movies that have an inner, quiet beauty, and it is perfectly captured by the romance between Steve McQueen and Candice Bergen.This is one of my favorite movies.

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¨.