"Omnibus" Song of Summer: Frederick Delius (1968)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Eric Fenby (book)
Ken Russell (writer)

TV Series:

"Omnibus" (1967)

Original Air Date:

15 September 1968 (Season 2, Episode 1)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

Traces last 5 years of the life of Frederick Delius through the eyes of a young composer called Eric Fenby.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Book

Cast

Max Adrian	...	Frederick Delius
Maureen Pryor	...	Jelka Delius
Christopher Gable	...	Eric Fenby
David Collings	...	Percy Grainger
Geraldine Sherman	...	Girl next door
Elizabeth Ercy	...	Maid
Roger Worrod	...	Bruder
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Norman James	...	Doctor
Ken Russell	...	Priest (cameo)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Borrowdale, Lake District, Cumbria, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Featured in A British Picture (1989) (TV)

Song of Sadness and Hope

A middle-age composer is struck down by paralysis and blindness brought on by syphilis. All the music still living inside him must remain there forever, or so it seems, until a young man volunteers his time to bring that music to life. Such is the remarkable but true story of Frederic Delius and his amanuenses, Eric Fenby.

In 1929, Eric Fenby was a young man living in England, a frustrated musician earning money by playing background music for Laurel & Hardy films. One night, he reads in the paper of Frederic Delius' tragic plight and, possessing a young man's impulsiveness, decides to go to Grez-sur-Loing, where Delius lives with his wife, Jelka, and offer his assistance.

When they first meet, it is NOT a meeting of the minds. Delius (played so wickedly wonderfully well by Max Adrian) says he wants to compose and he starts humming. Fenby, in frustration, realizing the uphill battle he has taken on, asks, "What key is it in, Sir" and Delius loses patience with the well-meaning young man. An uneasy start, to be sure, but by the end, previously unheard music finds its way onto paper and into concert halls.

This is a wonderful little film, part of a PBS series titled "Biography." The series had been narrated by Lady Antonia Fraser and she did a wonderful job introducing the film and understanding just what a miracle had occurred in 1929 when Fenby decided to help Delius.

But this movie is far from being maudlin and you do NOT end up feeling sorry for Delius. Despite being blind and paralyzed, he is not without talent and he certainly isn't without wit.

When Fenby asks him what he thinks of certain composers, he says of one, "He would have set the entire Bible to music if he'd lived long enough." He also decides to act as a father to Fenby - not having children of his own and being so much older than Fenby, it probably was natural in the course of their relationship. Being an atheist, he suggests Fenby get rid of his "great Christian blinders" but Fenby, being a devout Roman Catholic, ignores this suggestion.

But, later in the film, Fenby ends up being the "parent" as Delius becomes sicker and Jelka develops stomach cancer and requires surgery. He had served as a confidant to Jelka and it is from her that he (and we) learns what Delius was like as a young man - his incredible womanizing, the brutal way he treated Jelka and finally, his contracting syphilis from the women with whom he had slept.

And in the end, no matter how tragic their plight, Delius and Fenby together brought to light some incredibly beautiful music - the music that inspired the title and the picture. It runs like a thread throughout the film and gives it a joy and a hope you would not expect considering the subject.

This wonderful movie is well worth a look if it ever appears on TV again. It's available on British DVD but not on American DVD or VHS. That's a shame. However, the music that inspired it is available on CD and is also well worth listening to. And viewers will be amazed at what Fenby gave up - and what we all got - as a result of his service - which lasted for 5 years until Delius died - to a great composer. We are all blessed by the sacrifice.