Editing The Sand Pebbles (film) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
For years, Robert Wise had wanted to make ''The Sand Pebbles'', but the film companies were reluctant to finance it. ''The Sand Pebbles'' was eventually financed by [[Twentieth Century-Fox]], but because its production required extensive [[location scouting]] and preproduction work, as well as being affected by a [[monsoon]] in Taipei, its [[Producer (film)|producer]] and [[Director (film)|director]] Wise realized that principal photography could not begin for more than a year. At the insistence of Fox, Wise agreed to direct a "fill-in" project, the [[38th Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[The Sound of Music (film)|''The Sound of Music'']].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sound of Music: The Making of America's Favorite Movie |last=Hirsch |first=Julia Antopol |publisher=[[Contemporary Books]] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-8092-3837-8|location=Chicago |url=https://archive.org/details/soundofmusicmaki0000hirs |url-access=registration|pages=13-14}}</ref>

===Pre-production===
Fox spent $250,000 building a replica [[gunboat]] named the ''San Pablo'', based on the {{USS|Villalobos|PG-42|6}} — a former [[Spanish Navy]] gunboat that was seized by the U.S. Navy in the [[Philippine Islands]] during the [[Spanish–American War]] (1898–1899) — but with a greatly reduced draft to allow sailing on the shallow [[Danshui River|Tam Sui]] and [[Keelung River]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesandpebbles.com/mcqueen/mcqueen.htm|title=Steve McQueen - The Sand Pebbles|work=thesandpebbles.com|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=February 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220131551/http://thesandpebbles.com/mcqueen/mcqueen.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The replica's final design was closer to that of 1928 [[river gunboat]]s than that of the ''Villalobos''.<ref>{{cite web |title=USS San Pablo from the Sand Pebbles |url=https://www.thesandpebbles.com/san_pablo/sanpablo.html |website=thesandpebbles.com |publisher=Crispin Garcia |access-date=16 May 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070101181805/https://www.thesandpebbles.com/san_pablo/sanpablo.html|archive-date= 1 January 2007}}</ref> A seaworthy vessel that was actually powered by [[Cummins]] diesel engines,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesandpebbles.com/jim_fritz/jim_fritz.htm|title=Jim Fritz - Recollections of The Sand Pebbles (1966)|work=thesandpebbles.com|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=May 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522182523/http://www.thesandpebbles.com/jim_fritz/jim_fritz.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the ''San Pablo'' made the voyage from Hong Kong to Taiwan and back under her own power during shooting of ''The Sand Pebbles''. After filming was completed, the ''San Pablo'' was sold to the DeLong Timber Company and renamed the ''Nola D'', then later sold to Seiscom Delta Exploration Co., which used it as a floating base camp with significant modifications, including removal of its engines and the addition of a helipad.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesandpebbles.com/san_pablo/demise_sanpablo.html|title=The Demise of the San Pablo - The Sand Pebbles|work=thesandpebbles.com|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=June 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626055655/http://www.thesandpebbles.com/san_pablo/demise_sanpablo.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The boat was towed to [[Singapore]] and broken up in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Demise of the San Pablo - The Sand Pebbles |url=https://www.thesandpebbles.com/san_pablo/demise_sanpablo.html |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=www.thesandpebbles.com}}</ref>

Robert Wise's cinematographer from ''The Sound of Music'', [[Ted McCord (cinematographer)|Ted McCord]], had taken a scouting trip to the Asian locations, but he informed Wise that his heart problems made him not capable enough to shoot the film.<ref>Santopietro, Tom ''The Sound of Music Story'' Bantam Press; 1st edition 1 May 2015</ref>

===Filming===
''The Sand Pebbles'' was filmed in Taiwan and Hong Kong.<ref name="Headland 2022 x594">{{cite web | last=Headland | first=Andrew Jr. | title=From the archives, 1966: Variety’s the Spice of Candy’s Life | website=Stars and Stripes | date=July 25, 2022 | url=https://www.stripes.com/history/2022-07-25/sand-pebbles-movie-set-taiwan-1966-6764179.html | access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref> Its filming, which began on November 22, 1965, in [[Keelung]],<ref name="AFI 1966 c541">{{cite web | title=AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Sand Pebbles | website=AFI | date=December 20, 1966 | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23720 | access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref> was scheduled to take about nine weeks, but it ended up taking seven months.<ref name="Espinal 2013 f442">{{cite web | last=Espinal | first=Megan | title=The Sand Pebbles (1966) | website=The Saturday Evening Post | date=February 22, 2013 | url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2013/02/the-sand-pebbles-1966/ | access-date=January 29, 2024}}</ref> The cast and crew took a break for the Christmas holidays in [[Tamsui District|Tamsui, Taipei]].

At one point, a 15-foot camera boat capsized on the Keelung River, setting back the schedule because the soundboard was ruined when it sank. When the filming was finally completed in Taiwan, the government of the Republic of China was rumored to have held the passports of several cast members because of unpaid additional taxes.<ref name="Espinal 2013 f442" /> In March 1966, the filming moved to Hong Kong and [[Shaw Brothers Studio]] for three months, mainly for scenes in [[Sai Kung Town|Sai Kung]] and [[Tung Chung]]. In June, production traveled to [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]] to finish its interior scenes at [[Fox Studios]].

Due to frequent rain and other difficulties in Hong Kong, the filming was halted and nearly abandoned. McQueen had developed an abscessed molar and returned to California because he did not wish to be treated in Hong Kong. By the time he received treatment in Los Angeles, he was very ill and was ordered by his dentist and physician to take an extended period of rest, one that further delayed production for several more weeks.

Some filming took place on the dreadnought-type battleship [[USS Texas (BB-35)|USS ''Texas'']], but these scenes were cut from the final film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/news/uss-texas-repairs.html|title=Last Remaining WWI-Era Dreadnought, USS Texas (BB-35), to Undergo $35 Million Repairs|website=www.warhistoryonline.com|date=September 6, 2022}}</ref>
After more than 40 years, 20th Century Fox found 14 minutes of footage that had been cut from the film's initial [[Roadshow theatrical release|roadshow]] version shown at New York's Rivoli Theatre. The restored version has been released on DVD. The sequences are spread throughout the film and add texture to the story, though they do not alter it in any significant way.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesandpebbles.com/missing_scenes_flash/missing_scenes_flash.html|title=The Sand Pebbles - Restored Roadshow Scenes (German 35 mm version) |website=www.thesandpebbles.com|accessdate=19 December 2024}}</ref>