The Song of Ceylon: Lester recalls Wendt’s stories

This has reference to my colleague and friend Richard Boyle’s scholarly essay on Basil Wright’s ‘Song of Ceylon’ and more importantly Wright’s other documentary films.

In his concluding paragraph, he says rather peremptorily that I should divulge what I know of Wright’s great masterpiece. What I do know is more in the nature of gossip rather than serious criticism but it may have some minor interest to those who are acquainted with Wright’s great documentary masterpiece. It is Lionel Wendt who first revealed to me many stories about the making of this film.

For both Wright and Taylor it was their first visit to Ceylon and Wendt took them and showed them what they should see. The posthumous publication of Wendt’s stunning photographs of the island reveals many images that remind one of ‘Song of Ceylon’. He also revealed that it was Grieson, the producer who suggested that Robert Knox be used for the commentary and not W.H. Auden who was commissioned to write. Grieson rejected it on the grounds that it was ‘Too po- etic for words” and clashed with Wright’s intensely lyrical images. To record it many BBC voices were auditioned but found to be unsuitable.

Finally Lionel Wendt to his surprise was chosen “for his soft modulated voice” which had no trace of an accent. For the final recording Kandyan drummers were flown to London as the location recording was not good enough. The four part series, in other words the structure of the film was Grieson’s idea. On the title designed for the film, GRIESON alone gets solo credit.

I must emphasize that the above comments are not meant to belittle Wright’s contribution. In the final analysis he directed the film.

‘Song of Ceylon’ remains one of the greatest documentaries in the history of documentary films. Lester James Peries

Colombo 5