The Sand Pebbles
“This is the heroic story of the men on the U.S.S. San Pablo who disturbed the sleeping dragon of savage China as the threatened world watched in breathless terror.”
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.
Where to watch
Amazon Video
Rent · Buy
Apple TV Store
Rent · Buy
Google Play Movies
Rent · Buy
YouTube
Rent · Buy
Fandango At Home
Rent · Buy
Your rating
Your review
Cast
33 people
Steve McQueen
Jake Holman
Known for
The Great Escape
Papillon
Paul Chun
Cho-jen
Richard Attenborough
Frenchy Burgoyne
Known for
Jurassic Park
The Great Escape
Richard Crenna
Captain Collins
Known for
First Blood
Hot Shots! Part Deux
Candice Bergen
Shirley Eckert
Known for
Gandhi
Miss Congeniality
Mako
Po-han
Known for
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Samurai Jack
Larry Gates
Jameson
Known for
In the Heat of the Night
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Charles Robinson
Ensign Bordelles
Known for
The Six Million Dollar Man
Shenandoah
Simon Oakland
Stawski
Known for
Psycho
West Side Story
Ford Rainey
Harris
Known for
Halloween II
White Heat
Joe Turkel
Bronson
Known for
The Shining
Blade Runner
Gavin MacLeod
Crosley
Known for
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Robert Wise Director · Robert Anderson Screenplay Richard McKenna Author
Worldwide gross $20M · Budget $12M · United States release December 20, 1966
Box office
Budget
$12,000,000
Worldwide gross
$20,000,000
Gross vs. budget
1.7×
Production
Robert Wise Productions
Production
Solar Productions
Production
20th Century Fox
Production
20th Century Studios
Studio · Production
United States · Taiwan · Hong Kong SAR China
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Chinese · English
Release dates
United States · December 20, 1966
Theatrical
Argentina
March 16, 1967 · Theatrical
Australia
September 1, 1967 · Theatrical
Brazil
December 1, 2003 · Physical · mj.gov.br - Fox Home BR
Canada
June 3, 2008 · Physical · Blu-ray
Colombia
May 9, 1968 · Theatrical
Denmark
March 27, 1967 · Theatrical
Finland
March 24, 1967 · Theatrical
February 20, 1981 · Theatrical · Re-release
France
February 8, 1967 · Theatrical
December 30, 2009 · Theatrical · Re-release
Germany
March 23, 1967 · Theatrical · West Germany
Greece
May 26, 2002 · Physical · DVD
Hong Kong SAR China
October 12, 1967 · Theatrical
Ireland
July 7, 1967 · Theatrical
Italy
February 15, 1967 · Theatrical
Japan
March 18, 1967 · Theatrical
Mexico
December 28, 1967 · Theatrical
Netherlands
March 23, 1967 · Theatrical
February 17, 2007 · Physical · DVD
July 16, 2008 · Physical · Blu ray
Norway
November 9, 1967 · Theatrical
South Africa
March 27, 1967 · Theatrical
Spain
April 12, 1967 · Theatrical
Sweden
March 20, 1967 · Theatrical
Türkiye
February 26, 1973 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
April 5, 1967 · Theatrical
More from Robert Wise
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked The Sand Pebbles
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.