Film / Raising the Wind

The maddest band of maestros who ever fiddled their way through college.

Sir Benjamin: Is there some defect in your instrument?

Jill: Oh, no, Sir Benjamin.

Sir Benjamin: It would appear to sound like two skeletons making love upon a tin roof.

— Sir Benjamin Boyd critiquing Jill Clemons' musical skills.

Raising the Wind is a 1961 film starring James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Paul Massie, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser, Eric Barker, Jennifer Jayne, Jimmy Thompson, and Guest Star Sid James. Despite being produced and directed by Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas, and having a few of the films' stars, this film was not part of the Carry On... Series.

Mervyn Hughes (Phillips), Malcolm Stewart (Massie), Alex Spendlove (Thompson), Miranda Kennaway (Fraser), and Jill Clemons (Jayne) are students at the London Academy of Music and the Arts, and they all share a flat owned by their deaf landlady, Mrs. Deevens (Esma Cannon). While the conductor, Sir Benjamin Boyd (Justice), and senior student Harold Chesney (Williams) are constantly putting them down, they don't let the two get to them and they play a string quintet recital at the Tudor Rose Room for Alex's aunt, Mrs. Featherstone (Ambrosine Phillpotts), to raise funds.

When Mervyn writes a catchy tune, he gets drunk and sells it to two music publishers, Sid (James) and Harry (Lance Percival), for £50. Once Mervyn sobers up, he realises that he has violated the terms of his grant but can't afford to repurchase the tune. Things go from bad to worse when he remembers the tune wasn't an original one, but the "Alexandra Valtz", which he had remembered from when he was a child, which runs the risk of the true composer suing Sid and Harry.

Hilarity Ensues as Malcolm goes up for the Strauss Scholarship with help from Dr. Morgan Rutherford (Barker), while Mervyn tries to get out of his sticky situation.

---

EGGHEAD TROPES STUDENT PENS POP HIT:

• Absent-Minded Professor: Rutherford is considered one of the best composers at the London Academy of Music and the Arts, and in the world, but his head is permanently off in the clouds, too busy thinking about playing golf in his cluttered office to remember which pupils are supposed to visit him and when. He even manages to forget the word for "piano"!
  Rutherford: I have a screw loose. (Beat) If you find it, you'll might, er, put it in an envelope and send it to... wherever I'm going, please. The name is, uh, "Rutherford".
• Accidental Misnaming: When Jill introduces Malcolm to Mrs. Deevens as "the new tenant", she believes his name is "Mr. Tenant". She also calls Alex Spendlove "Mr. Dearlove".
• Actually Pretty Funny: Sir Benjamin and Sir John are unable to hold back their laughter as they watch the orchestra undermine Chesney in front of the examiners.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Alex calls his friends "Dear boy", "Dear girl", "Angel child", "Darling", and "Dear chap" when talking to them.
  • Sid calls Doris "Luscious".
• Agony of the Feet: As Alex plays his clarinet for an invigilator, said invigilator accidentally trods on his foot, causing Alex to blow a long, high note in pain.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy:
  • After drinking a few large brandies, a drunken Mervyn sells a tune to Sid and Harry, unaware that the tune in question is an existing piece of music (the "Alexandra Valtz"), putting him at risk of losing his scholarship and Sid and Harry at risk to get sued for using an existing tune.
  • After Mervyn, Malcolm, and Alex go out drinking with Jill, they return to their digs roaringly drunk and singing inanely as Jill tries to get them to their rooms.
• Alliterative Name: Benjamin Boyd.
• All There in the Script: Several characters' names aren't given in the film itself:
  • Alex's aunt is "Mrs. Featherstone".
  • Sid and Harry's Sexy Secretary is "Doris".
  • The student who finds the lost head of Rutherford's golf club is "Janet".
  • Two of the other professors are "Lumb" and "Parkin".
• Babies Ever After: At the end of the film, Sir John calls Malcolm and Jill a duo and tells them that they are excellent. Malcolm responds that in a year or so, they hope to make it a trio.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • Mervyn asks Mike (the barman) for "another", Mike asks if he means a double and Mervyn tells him he wants a triple. Rather than alcohol, Mike gives him three aspirin tablets.
  • When Jill, Mervyn, Malcolm, and Alex return from the pub, the former tries in vain to keep the latter three quiet as they go up the stairs. The film cuts to their landlady, Mrs. Deevens, as if to imply she will be mad at them for making such a racket, only for the film to remind us that she is almost completely deaf with a gag that she is unable to hear them.
• The Big Damn Kiss:
  • Mervyn gives one to Miranda after she admits she doesn't want the Strauss Scholarship, but rather she wants him.
  • Malcolm gives one to Jill after she agrees to move in with him.
• Bookends: The film starts and ends with Jill running her car into a cab.
• Brick Joke: The very first scene of the film has Jill backing her car into a cab. Later on, when she and Malcolm are moving into their new digs, the same cab driver backs into her car.
• Brief Accent Imitation: Sir Benjamin adopts a German accent when saying the name of the tune Mervyn unknowingly copied, the "Alexandra Valtz".
• Broken Glass Penalty: Rutherford is fond of playing golf in his office. When Malcolm goes to meet with him, one of his golf balls comes shooting through the window on his door and nearly hits him. Later, Rutherford tries teaching Malcolm to play, only for Malcolm to lose his grip and through the club through the window.
• Butt-Monkey: The cab driver suffers in every scene he's in - he gets his cab collided with twice, drives his own cab into Jill's car, and gets run over by a runaway bass drum.
• Creator Cameo: The film's writer, Bruce Montgomery, appears briefly as a conductor (just as he was in Real Life).
• Curse Cut Short: When Chesney sees the cab driver's cab sans bumper, he makes an unhelpful comment. The scene cuts away before we hear the driver's reply:
  Chesney: You need a spanner.
  Cab Driver: Yeah, and you need-
• Deadpan Snarker: Sir Benjamin is perpetually fed-up and grouchy, and isn't afraid to let this be known as he takes it out on all and sundry:
  Cab Driver: I just want to exchange addresses with the young lady.
  Sir Benjamin: Although you might find it hard to believe, this is a concert hall and not a marriage bureau!
• Double-Meaning Title: The title refers to the woodwind section of an orchestra but can also be seen as Double Entendre for belching.
• The Dreaded: Chesney is to the other students as they can't stand his snobbery. When he tries to sit with Jill, Malcolm, and Alex in the canteen, they urge Mervyn to take his place at the table to save them from his presence.
• Dreadful Musician:
  • According to Rutherford, his first three symphonies were considered to be terrible and shocking.
  • When Sir Benjamin fills in for first bassoon while Malcolm is conducting, he plays far too loud and drowns everyone else out.
• Driven to Suicide: When Mervyn is at risk of losing his scholarship unless he raises £500 in a fortnight:
  Jill: There's an obvious way out.
  Mervyn: There are three obvious ways, actually. I could hang myself, shoot myself, or throw myself in the river.
• Drives Like Crazy: Jill is in such a hurry to get to the London Academy of Music and the Arts and to get her harp out of her car that she accidentally backs into a cab.
• Dwindling Party: Alex gets his flatmates to join him in performing a string quintet at the Tudor Rose Room for his aunt, Mrs. Featherstone. All of them are incredibly nervous, which isn't helped when Alex needs to quickly return to the "Artistes" room for a spare string. Malcolm quickly joins him, while Miranda and Jill slip away claiming that Miranda feels faint and needs water, leaving only Mervyn alone on stage. He flees the room shortly after.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Sid is shifty and takes advantage of a drunken Mervyn to write a song for him, he still ensures that he gets his £50 that he owes him, even though Mervyn was passed out at the time, and he could've easily left without paying him for the tune.
• Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: Sid gives one to Doris as she passes by him in the office.
• Gasshole: When Sir Benjamin tells a conducting Malcolm to "bring his wind up", he burps in response.
• Get Out!: After Mervyn manages to catch Sid and Harry in a loophole that stops them from using the "Alexandra Valtz", all Sid can do is bark at him to "Get out of here!".
• The Ghost:
  • Dr. Medley, a professor at the London Academy of Music and the Arts who has contracted influenza.
  • Alderman Higginbottom, Mervyn's professor and the one providing his scholarship.
• Hangover Sensitivity:
  • The day after Mervyn gets drunk and sells a tune to Sid and Harry, he has a splitting headache. Just the sound of Jill's voice makes him wince in pain.
  • After Alex and Malcolm go out drinking with Mervyn and Jill, the sound of Malcolm's trumpet is too much for Alex to handle.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction:
  • Just as Chesney brags to Miranda that he "never falls back", he tries to sit in a chair that he doesn't realise isn't behind him and falls flat on his behind with the whole canteen watching and laughing at him.
  • When Malcolm has had too much to drink, he runs off to be sick, causing Alex to laugh that "some of us can take it and some of us can't". He has another sip of his drink, before heading off in the same direction as Malcolm.
• Implied Death Threat: After Jill backs into a cab, the driver makes note of the harp in her car:
  Jill: You see, I'm horribly late. I-I was trying to get my harp out of the back of the car-
  Cab Driver: Look, carry on drivin' like that, you'll need that instrument sooner than you think!
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he may have been far too rude about it, the cab driver was right in that Jill was in the wrong for backing into his cab, damaging his bumper, and losing him Chesney's fare.
• Lame Rhyme Dodge: When Alex is standing up for Miranda:
  Chesney: Well, I hope you think you've earned it, my girl. Personally, I think it's ridiculous. I flatter myself I can conduct anything.
  Alex: Why don't you try lightning?
  Chesney: I beg your pardon?
  Alex: I said, "My G-string needs tightening".
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Even after Sir Benjamin orders him to leave, the cab driver remains in the concert hall shouting at him. He ends up regretting this, however, when Malcolm accidentally kicks a bass drum loose from the orchestra, which rolls down the stairs and crashes into him, knocking him down.
  • When Malcolm, Alex, and Jill are trying to get Mervyn drunk so he can write more tunes, he pours his drinks into Malcolm and Alex's glasses which makes them sink. Jill teaches him a lesson by forcing a triple brandy down his throat, claiming he deserved it for what he did.
  • Chesney mocks Mervyn for conducting his orchestra too fast, before insulting the orchestra as a whole. When it's time for him to conduct, they play much too fast indeed and make him look an utter fool.
• Last-Name Basis:
  • Alex is on one with Chesney, but doesn't appreciate this:
    Chesney: Really, Spendlove?
    Alex: Don't call me "Spendlove". Call me "Alex", and I'll think of something to call you.
  • Mervyn and Malcolm only call Harold by his surname, "Chesney".
• Last-Second Word Swap: When Malcolm reminds Alex and Jill that they have Psychology of Music next:
  Alex: Psychology of Music, my... Let's skip it.
• Lethal Chef: When Mervyn is hungry, there are only a few things he won't eat. One of them being Jill's goulash.
• Liquid Courage: When telling his flatmates about his plan to get them to replace a string quintet at the Tudor Rose Room for his aunt, Mrs. Featherstone, Alex lets them know they'll all need some Dutch courage. Right before the show, he slugs down a large amount of alcohol and is soon joined by Malcolm.
• Market-Based Title:
  • The film was released in America as Roommates.
  • The film was released in New Zealand as Carry On Fiddling.
• Mondegreen Gag: Mrs. Deevens is hard of hearing, and the students struggle to communicate with her. When Malcolm tries to explain to her that his surname is "Stewart", not "Tenant", she thinks he is talking about the weather and starts going on about the rain.
• Nasal Trauma: As Mervyn gives condescending advice to a group of street musicians, the tallest one orders their leader to "punch him on the hooter".
• No Full Name Given:
  • We don't get to find out Sid, Harry, Sir John, Phil, Mike, or Wilf's surnames.
  • The same can be said for Mrs. Deevens and Mrs. Bostwick's first names.
• Office Golf: Rutherford is fond of playing golf in his office, but he's a little too strong with the club as Malcolm finds out when a stray ball shoots through the window of his door and nearly hits him.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: On his first day at the London Academy of Music and the Arts, Malcolm accidentally kicks a bass drum loose and injures a cab driver. Sir Benjamin isn't impressed and reminds him of this when he meets him next.
• Pain to the Ass: When Chesney sits down to play the piano in Rutherford's office, he sits on his loose screw and jumps up in pain.
• Plagiarism in Fiction: A drunken Mervyn sells Sid and Harry what he thinks is an original tune, unaware it is the "Alexandra Valtz".
• Plot Hole:
  • Mrs. Featherstone tells the musicians to leave their coats in a room with "Artistes" written on the door, yet the door they pass through has nothing written on it.
  • Meryvn's tune is somehow sent to a music paper, printed, published, and sent to the shops before his hangover wears off.
• Posthumous Character: Grace Darnly-Wittings, the original composer of the "Alexandra Valtz".
• Pun: After Malcolm's trumpet playing gives a hungover Alex a terrible headache, he reassures Jill that "his Bach is worse than his bite".
• Reaction Shot:
  • As Mervyn talks about banging on the door of Mrs. Deevens, his deaf landlady, he mentions how he "banged away for hours". Cue a confused look from Alex.
  • When Sir Benjamin mentions that his great flaw as a conductor is "over-politeness at rehearsal", the scene cuts to Miranda pulling a bemused face, as if to incredulously say, "Oh, really?". She pulls a similar face once she hears how he loudly plays the bassoon when he shouldn't.
  • As Rutherford tells him he has a screw loose, the film cuts to Chesney giving him an incredulous look.
• Relationship Upgrade: The final scenes between Mervyn and Miranda, and Malcolm and Jill have them becoming couples, sealed with a Big Damn Kiss.
• Rhymes on a Dime: As Sid and Harry brainstorm new jingles:
  Sid: "Yum-sy, scrum-sy, bum-sy, scrip-" (Beat) "Bum-sy"?
  Harry: "Chum-sy".
  Sid: Oh, my mistake. Clumsy.
• Rule of Three: Jill and the cab driver have three collisions throughout the film.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: As the students leave their string quintet performance at the Tudor Rose Room, eventually only Mervyn is left onstage. The pressure slowly gets to him, until he finally cracks and dashes from the room.
• Sexy Secretary: Sid and Harry have the luscious Doris. Sid's quite a fan of her rear in particular.
• Shout-Out:
  • One of the scholarships at the London Academy of Music and the Arts is the Strauss Scholarship, named for Austrian composer Johann Baptist Strauss II.
  • Miranda can be seen reading Cosmopolitan as Jill cooks goulash.
  • Malcolm makes a joke about his Bach being worse than his bite.
  • When mocking Mervyn for conducting the orchestra too fast, Chesney asks him if he's ever read Boris Asafyev.
• Smug Snake: Chesney is, unbearably so, with how proud he is of himself with his talents and conducting skills. It makes him disliked amongst all the other students.
• The Smurfette Principle: Referenced by Jill when it is agreed that Miranda will be moving in; she adds that she wouldn't like the idea of being the only female in the group.
• Stealth Insult: When Sid and Harry bicker over whether Mervyn's musical skills are legit or not, Sid asks if he's ever been wrong, to which Harry replies, "Definitely". Sid doesn't realise what he's just said and thanks him.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: One of the professors at the London Academy of Music and the Arts is called Dr. Medley.
• Stock Footage: Pre-existing footage of an LNER A4 Pacific is used to show the first viola player's late train.
• Suicide as Comedy: When Jill tries to think up a way to stop Mervyn losing his scholarship, he thinks up three ideas - hanging himself, shooting himself, or throwing himself in the river.
• Tagline: "A laugh in every note!".
• Talk to the Fist: An annoyed street musician tells his group's leader to punch Mervyn "on the hooter" after he gives them some condescending advice.
• That Came Out Wrong:
  • When Mervyn tells the others about Mrs. Deevens, his deaf landlady:
    Mervyn: The point is, you see, the landlady's absolutely as deaf as a post. They couldn't be more perfect. You have to write everything down for her. Well, there's no use banging on her door or anything like that. I banged away for hours yesterday. (Beat) Nothing happened.
  • When Mervyn tries to convince the others to let Miranda move in with them, he remarks that they're all "bosom friends". Once he realises what he's said, he stutters and stammers and tries to explain that he's had her in mind to move in for a while.
  • Rutherford tells Malcolm he needs a woman... to tidy his office.
  • Rutherford also tells Chesney he has a screw loose, before clarifying it's an actual screw he lost in his office.
• Those Two Guys: Sid and Harry, a pair of music publishers, are always seen together.
• Time Skip: After Alex tells his flatmates of his plan to get them to replace a string quintet at the Tudor Rose Room for his aunt, Mrs. Featherstone, the film jumps ahead a week to the night of the recital.
• Translation Matchmaking: In New Zealand, the film was released as Carry On Fiddling. While it was produced and directed by Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas, and does share many actors with the Carry On... Series, it is not an official entry in the Carry On series.
• Undercrank: When the orchestra purposely plays too fast to undermine Chesney in front of the examiners, the film is sped up to make the scene funnier.
• Unions Suck: While the students are moving into their new digs, they have to wait for the removal men to finish their tea break, which Mervyn points out in an acidic tone is union rules.
• Villainous Breakdown: The ever-snooty Chesney is at his worst when conducting the orchestra at the end of the film, so the orchestra decides to pay him out by making him look bad through incessant questions, playing the wrong music, and playing too fast. Chesney frantically tries to regain order, but can't keep them under control, ending with him falling to the ground as his podium collapses, and looking an utter fool in front of the examiners.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: When Malcolm and Alex have had too much to drink, they run off-screen to the pub toilets to vomit.
• With a Foot on the Bus: At the end of the film, a saddened Jill tells Malcolm she's out of money and is going to have to move back in with her parents at the end of term. Malcolm responds by offering to let her move into his room at Mrs. Deevens' with him and giving her a Big Damn Kiss.

---