In the climax to THE SAND PEBBLES, when Lt. Collins attempts to hold off the Chinese, he's seemingly out to die for the flag. As a result, he gets gunned down by snipers before too long. Holman takes up the BAR and takes Collins' place. He lasts longer against the Chinese because he DOESN'T want to die, but when he is killed, he's at least dying for people---Shirley obviously, but also Crosley and Bronson. Is that a reasonable interpretation?
shareI think it's a reasonable interpretation. Of course it could also be explained by the fact that Holman is played by Steve McQueen and McQueen infamously was adamant that he didn't want Holman to die at the end of the film (apparently repeatedly asking the director to change the ending so that Holman would live).
shareI know McQueen did want certain scenes to be filmed his way, but he didn't seem to have a problem with dying at the end of his movies. He's also killed at the end of Hell is for Heroes and The War Lover, though the characters in those films are WAY less sympathetic. Holman the character has his one and only chance to both do his duty by the military and humanity at large at the same time.
Hey, phillipsdan83: You don't need to be so cavalier about revealing the endings of films not even under discussion here. After all, how many browsers here might SAND PEBBLES have motivated to try the pictures you just mentioned? (That's why IMDb has their policy against "spoilers.") If you want your insight respected, start applying it to your own actions.
Now -- Holman's sense of "duty" toward humanity had been emerging gradually throughout the picture. When Maily was put up for "auction" in Mr. Shu's bar, Holman gives Frenchy (apparently) all of his own remaining cash so that Frenchy won't be outbid. It's clear to me that Holman is motivated not merely by loyalty to his friend, but also to help protect Maily's innocence from the Ugly-American civilians.
Even earlier, in a brief but important scene present in the roadshow version (and which never should have been cut), Holman reacts to Frenchy calling Po-han a "slopehead" by asking, "What does that make her?" (Meaning Maily.) Although Holman had been accustomed to using the derogatory term himself, his relationship with the bilge coolie has changed him for the better.
And further, Holman already had done his duty toward humanity well before the ending through his humane act of shooting Po-han to end his torture by the rioters onshore. In the moment, his Chinese crewmate's suffering was clearly more important than Holman's military career.
For a final point, Lt. Collins' sacrificial action is more complex than your summation. Beyond just "dying for the flag," that officer is also trying to atone for what he considers his culpability for his crew's mutiny aboard ship; and of course, he sincerely saw the primary responsibility of his command as protecting American lives ... "even if they ARE damn fools."
See him as right or wrong, that lonely man possessed character.
I had not intended to be so cavalier about other movies so much as discussing other McQueen war films. I agree that Holman's duty towards humanity was emerging throughout the film and agree that in particular shooting Po-Han was the only right thing that could've been done under the circumstances (in fact in the novel Lt.Collins allows him to do it---his problem with Holman is rooted in his sensing that Jake doesn't believe in the former's ideals). But Holman finds himself under circumstances where his duty to humanity and his duty to the military instead of clashing actually mesh at the end, and Lt. Collins' idea of atoning for his responsibility is to get killed in battle. But Collins is true to his ideals no matter what you think of them...and so is Mr. Jameson (who may even be the bigger fool; whether Lt. Collins is to blame for his immediate predicament or not, Jameson is blind to the idea that the Chinese troops coming for him see him as another American and may not bother listening to him). Both of them are killed for it.
share'Rosebud' was his sleigh.
share