The Scarlet Sails (Russian: Алые паруса) is a 1961 film directed by Alexander Ptushko and based on Alexander Grin's novella of the same name. It is generally very faithful to the original, apart from tweaking Rebel Prince Arthur Grey's storyline to have it better conform to proper Soviet values.
Tropes featured in the film:
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Grey is a hired captain and doesn't own the Secret, since it wouldn't have been proper to have a capitalist as a Soviet romantic hero. However, Grey still refuses expensive cargo and instead buys two kilometres of scarlet silk for the sails. For somebody who doesn't own the ship, it would have most probably led to a loss of the job. Unless, of course, the ship's owner is enough of a romantic to forgive such an escapade, but this is never addressed in the movie.
- Adaptational Expansion: Grey's storyline is significantly longer than in the book.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the book, although Grey gets his wish to become a captain, he keeps in contact with his family. Here, he completely breaks off all ties with it.
- Adaptational Villainy: Grey's parents are stereotypical Aristocrats Are Evil Idle Rich; Lionel's sense of humor and Lilian's unconditional love for Arthur aren't shown.
- Age Lift: Menners Jr.'s exact age isn't stated, but he is not mentioned to be seven years older than Assol like in the book (which would have put him in his mid-twenties by the time the main plot begins), and his actor was forty-seven at the time and looks it.
- Beautiful Dreamer: Like in the book, Grey first sees Assol when she is asleep and leaves her his ring.
- Canon Foreigner: Grey helps some terrorists, no hint of whom can be found in the book. To clarify: revolutionary terrorists were token good guys who often appeared in Soviet media.
- Culturally Sensitive Adaptation: There are a few changes that were necessary at the time to make the film properly Soviet.
- Arthur Grey renounces his aristocratic lineage and helps some random revolutionary terrorists who tried to kill some random mayor. In the book, he does run away from home to become a captain but keeps in touch with his mother, and there are no terrorists. His parents also get hit with heavy Adaptational Villainy, because in the Soviet world Aristocrats Are Evil and only evil.
- In the book, while Assol isn't religious, she speaks a small prayer to God every morning and every evening. Here, she greets the sun in the morning instead; the only character to show any hint of practicing Christianity is Menners Jr.
- Death by Adaptation: Lilian Grey dies and her husband lives. In the book, it's the other way round.
- Disowned Parent: Arthur disowns his father after having had enough of his abuse.
- Fat Bastard: Both Menners Sr. and Menners Jr. are very stout and are extremely nasty people, especially Menners Sr. who refuses to help to Mary unless she sleeps with him. Menners Jr. makes sure to badmouth Assol and Longren (with the latter, it's at least understandable, but Assol is completely innocent) to anyone who would listen.
- Implausible Deniability: When the scarlet sails appear, Menners Jr. tries to stop Assol from approaching the ship, mockingly saying "Fool! Do you think they are here for you?!" Apparently, according to him, it's just a random ship that just happens to match Egl's ridiculously specific prophecy.
