About the film
When Assol is a little girl, a wandering storyteller tells her that one day a ship with scarlet sails will come to take her away. The village laughs at her for believing it.
Far away, Arthur Grey, the son of rich parents, runs away to sea and becomes a captain. When he sees Assol asleep on the shore, he decides to make the old prophecy come true.
Ptushko's colourful fairy tale made 16-year-old Anastasia Vertinskaya a star. In St Petersburg, a ship with scarlet sails still sails on the Neva every year to celebrate school graduates.
Did you know?
- Anastasia Vertinskaya was about 16 during filming.
- St Petersburg's 'Scarlet Sails' festival for graduates is named after the story.
- Director Alexander Ptushko was famous for his fairy-tale special effects.
