Stolper, Aleksandr Borisovich

Born July 30 (Aug. 12), 1907, in Dvinsk, present-day Daugavpils. Soviet film director and screenwriter. People’s Artist of the USSR (1977).

From 1923 to 1927, Stolper studied at L. V. Kuleshov’s cinema studio and worked as an actor and director. In 1927 he began working for the Mezhrabpomfil’m studio’s screenwriting department. Together with N. V. Ekk and R. V. Ianushkevich he wrote the screenplay for the film A Start in Life (1931). His first works as a director were A Simple Story (1930) and Four Visits of Samuel Wolf (1934). In 1938 he graduated from the department of directing at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography, where he had studied under S. M. Eisenstein.

Stolper has directed several films based on works of Soviet writers. His film adaptations of works by K. M. Simonov are A Lad From Our Town (1942) and Wait for Me (1943), both of which he directed in collaboration with B. G. Ivanov, The Living and the Dead (1964; first prize of the 14th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, 1964), and Retribution (1969), which is based on Simonov’s novel Nobody Is Born a Soldier. Stolper made films of B. N. Polevoi’s The Tale of a Real Man (1948), V. N. Azhaev’s Far From Moscow (1950), and lu. M. Nagibin’s Difficult Happiness (1958). He has also written several original screenplays for his films.

Stolper has taught at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography since 1965. He has been awarded the State Prize of the USSR (1949, 1951), the Vasil’ev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR (1966), three orders, and various medals.