Editing The Sand Pebbles (film) (section)

===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>