Music students navigate poverty, performance failures, professional pressure, romantic hopes, and diverging futures.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Students Seek Stability
The music students share a flat to stretch their grants and create a place to practise. Sir Benjamin Boyd's harsh conducting style establishes the academy's comic pressure.
Key Events
London Music Academy — Music students study and perform at the fictional London Academy of Music and the Arts.
Location: London Academy of Music and the Arts
Students Share A Flat — The students pool their meagre grants to secure a shared flat and practice space.
Location: Shared flat
Practice Arrangements — The shared home becomes a place for the students to practise music together.
Location: Shared flat
Orchestra Rehearsals — Sir Benjamin Boyd conducts the student orchestra while the students endure his criticism. Characters: Sir Benjamin BoydLocation: Academy orchestra hall
Acerbic Put-Downs — Sir Benjamin Boyd frequently puts down the students during their musical training. Characters: Sir Benjamin BoydLocation: Academy
Recital Fundraising Plan — The group plans a string quintet recital to raise urgently needed funds.
Location: Academy
Music Against Misfortune
A fundraising string recital fails because of repeated broken strings. The students recover through several successful performances of Handel's Messiah.
Key Events
Broken String Recital — The string quintet recital collapses when the instrument strings repeatedly break.
Location: Recital venue
Messiah Performances — The students earn more success through several performances of Handel's Messiah.
Location: Performance venues
A Catchy Tune — A talented student composer writes a catchy tune while seeking financial relief.
Location: Shared flat
Drunken Tune Sale — While drunk, the composer sells the tune to Sid and another copywriter for fifty pounds. Characters: SidLocation: Unspecified meeting place
Grant Terms Violated — The composer realizes while sober that selling the tune violated the terms of the grant.
Location: Shared flat
Five Hundred Pound Demand — Sid and his associate offer to sell the tune back for five hundred pounds. Characters: SidLocation: Unspecified meeting place
The Costly Tune
A drunken sale exposes the composer to a grant violation and an impossible repurchase demand. Discovering the tune's connection to the Alexandra Waltz introduces possible legal consequences.
Key Events
Existing Waltz Discovered — The composer learns that the tune resembles the existing Alexandra Waltz. Characters: SidLocation: Unspecified meeting place
Possible Legal Exposure — The tune's prior existence means its true composer could theoretically sue the purchasers. Characters: SidLocation: Unspecified meeting place
Scholarship Competition — Several students enter a prestigious scholarship competition.
Location: London Academy of Music and the Arts
Professional Orchestra Test — The scholarship test requires candidates to conduct the professional Sinfonia of London.
Location: Sinfonia of London rehearsal hall
Rimsky-Korsakov Attempt — One candidate makes a reasonable conducting effort with music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Location: Sinfonia of London rehearsal hall
Musicians Resist Criticism — The musicians become annoyed by a candidate's constant criticism and decide to retaliate.
Location: Sinfonia of London rehearsal hall
Scholarship And New Futures
The scholarship conducting test combines serious repertoire with a musical prank by annoyed performers. The unexpected award and later career offers lead the students toward love, employment, and departure.
Key Events
Overture Played Too Fast — The orchestra takes revenge by performing Rossini's William Tell Overture at excessive speed.
Location: Sinfonia of London rehearsal hall
Unexpected Scholarship Award — To everyone's surprise, the scholarship is awarded to a student.
Location: London Academy of Music and the Arts
Marriage Confession — The scholarship recipient confesses that marriage to a fellow student matters more than the award.
Location: Academy
Orchestra Position Offered — Sir Benjamin Boyd offers a student a full-time position as second trumpet in his professional orchestra. Characters: Sir Benjamin BoydLocation: Sir Benjamin's professional orchestra
Marriage Proposal — Another student proposes marriage to a fellow student after receiving the professional opportunity.
Location: Academy
Departure For Amsterdam — A student leaves the academy to study violin in Amsterdam, closing the students' shared chapter.
Location: Amsterdam
Story Breakdown
Academy Pressure — The students pursue musical training under an abrasive conductor and eccentric academic environment.
Student Orchestra — Sir Benjamin Boyd conducts the student orchestra.
Acerbic Criticism — The students endure repeated put-downs during their studies.
Shared Flat — The students pool limited grants to secure housing and a rehearsal space.
Pooled Grants — Their meagre grants are combined to make shared living possible.
Practice Space — The flat provides a place for the students to practise.
Fundraising Performances — The group tries to finance their lives through public musical performances.
Broken String Recital — The planned string quintet recital fails when strings repeatedly break.
Messiah Success — Several performances of Handel's Messiah are more successful.
Tune Sale Crisis — A drunken commercial deal creates financial, academic, and possible legal danger.
Fifty Pound Sale — Sid buys the tune for fifty pounds while the composer is drunk.
Repurchase Demand — Sid and his associate demand five hundred pounds to return the tune.
Waltz Revelation — The tune is recognized as an existing melody, the Alexandra Waltz.
Scholarship Trials — The students compete for a prestigious scholarship through professional conducting tests.
Orchestra Audition — Candidates conduct the professional Sinfonia of London.
Musical Retaliation — Annoyed musicians answer constant criticism with an over-fast Rossini overture.
Diverging Futures — The final outcomes combine unexpected recognition, romance, employment, and departure.
Unexpected Scholarship — The scholarship goes to a candidate whose personal priorities point toward marriage.
Professional Orchestra Post — Sir Benjamin Boyd offers a full-time second-trumpet position in his orchestra.
Amsterdam Departure — A student leaves the academy to study violin in Amsterdam.
'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas helms this comedy caper featuring early appearances by James Robertson Justice, Sid James, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser and Eric Barker. The film follows the hi-jinks of a group of music students who move into a shared flat in order to cut costs and have somewhere to practice their instruments. Things get tricky when Mervyn Hughes (Phillips) accidentally sells one of his compositions to an advertising agency and risks losing his scholarship. Can he and his friends find a way to raise the money to buy back the song rights?
