MOVIE PLOT

In the 1920s and 30s, the U.S. Navy (Asiatic Fleet), the British Royal Navy, and other Western powers maintained fleets of shallow-draft gunboats to police inland rivers, combat piracy, and violently suppress anti-imperial uprisings.  While Western gunboats had historically intimidated weaker local Chinese warlords, the 1930s brought a dramatic shift. Japan rapidly outmaneuvered Western gunboat diplomacy by deploying overwhelming military and naval might, escalating from coercion to full-scale invasion (e.g., the 1937 Second Sino-Japanese War).

"The Sand Pebbles" is a 1966 is American epic war film directed by Robert Wise, based on the novel of the same name by Richard McKenna. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist's mate first class (played by Steve McQueen), aboard the fictional river gunboat USS San Pablo, on Yangtze Patrol in 1920s China. The film stars Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, and Candice Bergen. 

The movie is set In 1926, China during its Warlord Era.  Navy Machinist's Mate First Class Jake Holman (McQueen) transfers to the Yangtze River Patrol gunboat USS San Pablo as their new engineer. Almost immediately, he upsets the crew when he will not accept the coolies they use to do most of their duties. Instead, Holman takes personal responsibility of the engine room.  When the Chinese Civil War begins, the San Pablo is ordered to remain neutral, while rescuing stranded Americans up river. However, that neutrality doesn't last and the Sailors of the San Pablo are thrust in to the fight with the 4 Inch Main Armament Gun, Lewis Guns, Browning Automatic Rifles and Springfield Rifles fighting off the Chinese Rebels.

MOVIE & HISTORIC TRIVIA

•    The steam engine for the San Pablo was located in California and renovated for this movie. The whole engine room was built around it on a soundstage.

•    The U.S.S. San Pablo was purposely built for this movie in Hong Kong. She actually was powered by diesel engines; the black smoke emanating from the stack came from old tires and other trash burned in a special compartment on the boat. 

•    The ship's crew and the coolies often speak to each other using Chinese Pidgen English (CPE). CPE was invented by the British in the 1800s in order to conduct trade business in China. The word "pidgen" generally means "business", but can also mean "job" or "activity" depending on context.

•    The shallowness of the Tam Sui and Keelung rivers in Taipei forced Director Robert Wise to drastically lighten the ship built for the movie. In real life, a Yangtze patrol boat would have had four four-inch guns, two three-inch/50-caliber mounts or four six-pounders as the main armament, four 57-millimeter rapid-fire guns as secondary armament and up to 10 30-caliber machine guns mounts. The weight reductions resulted in San Pablo having the forward four-inch gun and nothing else. All other weapons, including the 30-caliber machine guns, had to be handled by the actors. The "disarmament" of the boat actually worked for the movie's dramatic fight against the Junks, as a real Yangtze gunboat would have made short work of such lightly-armed opponents.

•    When Holman is 'sharing ideas' with the captain, he says that the black gang shouldn't be standing watch topside. The term 'black gang' is a coal-burning-era naval term referring to the men working below near the boilers, who would be covered in black coal dust. The San Pablo was a coal burning vessel, so the term was in use. It was still in use in WW2, for the below-decks hands who were in the bowels of the ships working the engines, even though coal was no longer the fuel.