Scarlet Sails (film)

Scarlet Sails
Poster for original USSR release
Directed by	Alexandr Ptushko
Written by	Alexandr Yurovsky Semyon Nagorny
Starring	Anastasiya Vertinskaya Vasily Lanovoy Lena Cheremshanova Sasha Lupenko Ivan Pereverzev
Music by	Igor Morozov
Cinematography	Gennady Tsekavy Viktor Yakushev
Edited by	I. Moronov
Distributed by	RUSCICO
Release date	USSR: 1961 USA: 2004 (DVD)
Running time	88 min.
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

Scarlet Sails (Russian: Алые паруса, Alye parusa) is a 1961 Soviet film produced by Mosfilm and directed by Alexandr Ptushko. It is based on Alexander Grin's 1923 adventure novel of the same name and stars Vasily Lanovoy and Anastasiya Vertinskaya. The story is a romantic fantasy and is described as a "fairy tale", though it contains no overtly supernatural elements.

The setting is a small fishing village. The former seaman Longren (Ivan Pereverzev) raises his daughter Assol (Lena Cheremshanova/Anastasiya Vertinskaya) alone after losing his beloved wife, making a meager living by selling the toy boats he carves from wood. As a child, Assol encounters an old man (Nikolay Volkov) who claims to be a wizard and promises the girl that one day a prince will come on a ship with scarlet sails to carry her away. The villagers scoff but Assol believes her dream will come true one day.

Arthur Grey (Sasha Lupenko/Vasily Lanovoy) is a nobleman's son who breaks away from his cruel father (Pavel Massalsky) to pursue a life at sea, and eventually becomes the captain of a merchant vessel. Having set to port at Assol's village, he spies the young maiden sleeping in the forest and falls in love. After inquiring in the village he learns of Assol's dream and sets about to make it come true.