Jake Holman's "Sand Pebbles" circa 1926 Machinist Mate 1c crow

[aerialbridge]

With it's 1926 Yangtze Patrol setting, the costume designers for 1966's "The Sand Pebbles" got the pre-1941 left facing eagles right on the officers' covers, but I'm surprised the technical advisor didn't speak up about the MM1c rate patch for Jake Holman. It was only 40 years after the movie's setting and there must have been an adequate supply (how about 2 or 3 patches?) of sharp-looking, authentic, tapered, right-leaning, left-facing MM1c Old Crows to be found pre-internet or at least made by the studio's seamstresses. Considering the over-all attention to detail and huge production costs of the movie (like making a prop 1920's gunboat), it's perplexing that instead they used a modern, right-facing, stuffed turkey for a prop of negigible cost but noticeable gaffe. In 1966, a lot of pre-WW2 retired sailors were still alive and going to the movies. A fantastic flick, but a technical mistake worth noting- if not here then where else. I'll bet that more than one navy patch or uniform collector got interested in collecting after seeing "The Sand Pebbles"

 

[topdcnut]

Name a movie with a Navy theme that does not have a uniforming mistake, I however wore my uniform and cover the way he did. Funny how they nail some things and screw up some of the easiest ones.

[David Minton]

I saw the movie for the first time after I started collecting rating badges, so was disappointed they didn't get that detail correct.

[sigsaye]

That was also exactly how I wore my white hat too! One of my ships had a poster of Jake In dungarees up on the bulkhead in the First Class Mess.

[Justin B.]

Considering the over-all attention to detail and huge production costs of the movie (like making a prop 1920's gunboat), it's perplexing that instead they used a modern, right-facing, stuffed turkey for a prop of negigible cost but noticeable gaffe. In 1966, a lot of pre-WW2 retired sailors were still alive and going to the movies.

 

It makes you wonder "What the hell happened?!"

 

Yes, it seems the movie used WW2 surplus stuff in places it wasn't correct. But the direction an eagle's beak is pointing is pretty obscure trivia, even an experienced wardrobe supervisor might not be expected to catch it. And they got some other things right: The officer's cap badge as mentioned above, also the crowns of the combination caps were smaller than in WW2. The chiefs' overcoats had the correct even-spaced black buttons instead of the four lower grouped close (but the peacoats were wrong, of course). And they seemed to have done their homework on the non-regulation Asiatic Fleet "tropical whites."

 

 

One good thing about blu-ray is I could finally see what Chief Wellbeck's rate was: Chief Quartermaster. Which makes sense since he took the wheel in the battle.

 

Anyway, I love that movie. And Fort Apache and Rio Grande also have uniform mistakes but I love them, too!

 

Justin B.

[Lee Ragan]

Steve, when I joined the USNR in 1971 I had seen the movie and I too also wore my white hat shaped like Steve McQueens in the movie. Some of the other guys in my unit did the same thing.

Justin, in all those of John Wayne /John Ford westerns about the frontier cavalry, there are LOTS of uniform mistakes! Yellow bandanas, stripes and shoulder straps on shirts and on and on.

[topdcnut]

As to the group photo, I do not think any period photo would show that all sailors would have the waves on their white hats, many would but not all. Also the Chiefs hats look nice but are missing the brass slides on the chin straps. Some how they located period hats, just not CPO hats.

[Justin B.]

Also the Chiefs hats look nice but are missing the brass slides on the chin straps. Some how they located period hats, just not CPO hats.

 

In 1922 the chiefs' chinstrap changed from "one gilt and one leather slide" to "two slides of the same material as the strap."

[aerialbridge]

Good stuff, guys. Any of you go for the "Last Detail", even-keel, low-forward wave when you wore your white caps?

 

 

[sigsaye]

Also used THIS movie as a training film for my Signal Gang ?. Jack was an AWESOME a SM1. But stuck with the 10 degree list to Starboard. Not only did Jake wear his like that, but do fid my Dad, my Uncle, and just about all the Sailors I knew growing up

[BROBS]

period WW2 photos of my Grandpa show him wearing his Dixie cup the same way.

 

Must have been very "stylish" at the time.

-Brian

[Ponycar07]

wore mine the same way as Steve

[1SG_1st_Cav]

I loved that movie!