Alexander Arturovich Rou was born (on February 24) on March 9, 1906 in Sergiev Posad. His father was an Irish invited to Russia for organization of the flour-grinding industry. After the beginning of World War I he returned home, and thus the family of Alexander faced hard times. At the age of 10 he had to earn his living by selling matches and combs. Having finished school he continued his studies in an industrial and economical technical school.

At the same time he studied at B. Tchaikovsky's film school, and then in M. Ermolova Drama Technical School. Soon Rou became a director assistant at Mezhrabpom-Film studio. This studio soon turned into the world’s only specialized children’s film studio Soyuzdetfilm.

In 1938 Alexander Rou began shooting of the fairy tale Wish upon a Pike. For the first time those were not cartooned characters but live actors who worked wonders in the fairy tale. This fairy tale is full of humour and amusing tricks. In 1940 Alexander Rou shot his next fairy tale – Vasilissa the Beautiful.  

Other splendid film fairy tales shot by Alexander Rou were The Humpbacked Horse (1941), Kashchey the Deathless (1945), The Magic Weaver (1960), Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963), Jack Frost (1965), Fire, Water, and Brass Pipes (1968), Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair (1969), Baba Yaga (1973) and others, became an integral part of childhood for several generation of Soviet citizens. 

 

Besides fairy tales the film director made other movies, such as the screen versions of N. V. Gogol’s books May Nights (1952) and Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (1961), as well as the movie Secret of the Mountain Lake (1954), stereoscopic films Day of Wonderful Impressions (1949) and A Precious Gift (1956), and the movie ballet Crystal Shoe (staged together with R. Zakharov in 1961).  

The People’s Actor of the RSFSR and the greatest master of the film fairy tale, Alexander Rou was conferred the October Revolution Award and the Honour Sign, as well as medals.  A number of his films took prizes of various international and all-Union film festivals. 

 

The outstanding faily tale director Alexander Arturovich Rou in Moscow died on December 28, 1973.