Alexander Rou

Alexander Arturovich Rou (; – 28 December 1973) was a Soviet film director. He directed a number of children's fantasy films, based mostly on Russian folklore that were highly popular and often imitated in the Soviet Union. Rou received the title People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1968.

Biography He was born to an Irish father Arthur Howard Rowe, (an engineer, who in 1905 came under contract to Russia to establish flour-milling) hence his unusual (for Russia) family name, and a Greek mother, known as Julia Karageorgia. His father worked in Yuryevets and in 1914 returned to Ireland, leaving the family in unstable Russia.

Starting in 1930, Alexander worked at Mezhrabpomfilm as an assistant director to Yakov Protazanov on the films Marionettes (1934) and Without a Dowry (1937), as well as with other directors. From 1937, he worked at the "Soyuzdetfilm" studio, later known as the Gorky Film Studio. He directed 15 fantasy films as well as a comedy and three short documentaries. Most of them were based on the Russian folklore or Russian fantasy books, such as by Nikolai Gogol, Petr Yershov, and Vitali Gubarev. They were a part of folk revival trend in the Soviet cinema, alongside films by Aleksandr Ptushko, Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Lev Atamanov, and others. Rou's movies were immensely popular in the Soviet Union and set up a tradition of fantasy films that was followed by younger directors including Dmitry Dyachenko.

Rou died in 1973 in a Moscow hospital while working on pre-production of his final movie Finist, the brave Falcon. It was completed by Gennady Vasilyev after his death.

Selected filmography 1938 — Wish upon a Pike 1939 — Vasilisa the Beautiful 1941 — The Humpbacked Horse 1944 — Kashchey the Immortal 1952 — May Nights 1954 — The Secret of Mountain Lake 1958 — New Adventures of Puss in Boots 1960 — The Magic Weaver 1960 — Cinderella 1961 — The Night Before Christmas 1963 — Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors 1964 — Jack Frost 1968 — Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes 1969 — Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair 1973 — The Golden Horns (Baba Yaga)