- Stan, who has remained faithfully at his World War I post for twenty years, finally comes home where his best friend, Ollie, takes him in, thus allowing him to discover the many conveniences of the modern world.
- It's 1938, but Stan doesn't know the war is over; he's still patrolling the trenches in France, and shoots down a French aviator. Oliver sees his old chum's picture in the paper and goes to visit Stan at the Soldier's Home. Thinking Stan is disabled (it's just that he's sitting on his leg), Oliver takes pity on him and takes him home for a nice home-cooked meal. But Oliver's wife has other ideas and leaves him to fend for himself. After blowing up the kitchen, Oliver is helped by his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Gilbert... until the big-game hunting Mr. Gilbert comes home unexpectedly, carrying a shotgun.—Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com>
- The film opens in 1917, while Ollie and Stan are serving in World War I. Their unit is engaged in trench warfare in Cootie Avenue, France. When the unit receives orders to attack the enemy lines, Stan is ordered to stand guard at their trench until relieved from duty. Stan is not pleased to stay alone, but Ollie promises to return for him.
In 1918, the unit (and Ollie) are engaged in numerous battles and have been re-positioned many times. They did not return to the old trench. An armistice is signed later that year. The unit soon returns to the United States, and takes part in victory parades. In 1938, twenty-years later, Stan still stands guard over the trench in Cootie Avenue. He thinks the war is still ongoing, as he has yet to receive newer orders. He does not know that the world has forgotten about him. He wears his worn-out uniform and boots, and feeds every day with canned food.
When an aircraft passes over the trench, Stan shoots at it with a machine gun. The pilot has to land the aircraft, and then searches for whoever shot at him. After a brief conversation between them, Stan finally learns that the war is over and leaves his trench. The scene shifts to Ollie, who has recently married. He is quite miserable, as his wife treats him as a servant and only pays him with a meager daily allowance (75 cents every day).She is currently angry with him, as he forgot their 1st marriage anniversary.
Ollie asks his for an hour's leave from housework, in order to prepare a surprise for her. As he leaves their apartment, Ollie chit-chats with the sexy next-door-neighbor, Mrs. Gilbert. She is expecting her husband, big-game-hunter Mr. Gilbert, to return from a two-months long hunting expedition in Africa. The hunter returns and finds his wife holding hands with Ollie. He is quite irate and suspects that Ollie is hitting on his wife.
Shortly after, a neighbor speaks to Ollie about the stupid war-veteran who guarded the trenches for twenty years. The neighbor shows the veterans newspaper photo to Ollie, who immediately recognizes Stan as his old comrade-in-arms. Following an elevator accident, Ollie borrows his wife's car and heads towards the veteran's home to meet Stan.
At the veteran's home, Stan is wearing civilian clothes and trying to read a newspaper. He finds the available park bench uncomfortable, so takes a seat on an empty wheelchair. Ollie mistakenly believes that Stan has lost a leg, and the he is an invalid. During their first conversation in two decades, Ollie admits to having missed Stan. Ollie invites Stan to his home for a home-made dinner, and physically transports him to his wife's car.
Ollie has problems with unparking the car, as there is a parked truck blocking the way. After realizing that Stan has two legs, Ollie instructs him to enter the truck and unpark it, Stan does manage to move the track, but in the process unloads its contents on Ollie's borrowed car. Damaging it.
The scene shifts to Mr. Gilbert, who is bragging to press reporters about his past expeditions. He shows them his trophy collection, including a mounted boar's head from India, and elephant tusks from Africa. He killed every animal himself, and claims to have never missed a target yet.
Ollie returns to his apartment building with Stan. Stan has a culture shock with the modern technology of the 1930s, such as automatic garage doors. Stan drives Ollie's borrowed car, in order to test the door himself. He exits safely and sees the door closing. He then drives forward, but the door fails to open. He collides the car into the garage door. Both the door and the car are destroyed.
The elevator at the apartment building is out of order, so Ollie and Stan are forced to walk up to the 13th floor, where Ollie's apartment is located. They are unaware that the elevator's repair finished while they were still walking. By the time they get to the 10th floor, the duo are exhausted and stop for a rest. A man tries to walk down the stairs, and they unwittingly stand in his way. He hits them both with his walking cane, and starts a lengthy argument with Ollie.
Ollie and the stranger agree to fight each other outside the apartment building. A crowd of spectators gathers to see the fight. The stranger tries to step away, as he is still in a hurry. Ollie dismisses him as a common coward, and the man angrily returns and starts hitting him. Besides his cane, he is using his suitcase. Some liquid starts pouring out of the suitcase. Ollie is knocked out and the crowd steps away. Later, Stan helps Ollie to get up and walks him back into the apartment building.
Ollie is surprised to meet his ex-girlfriend Lulu at the apartment building. After a brief conversation, he tells her that he is now married to another woman. Lulu admits that she just left a love note for him, then hastily retreats. Ollie worries about his wife's reaction to Lulu's note. While walking upstairs in a hurry, Ollie is hit on the face with a ball, belonging to a neighbor boy. He angrily kicks the ball downstairs. Ollie is threatened by the boy's tough-looking father to retrieve the ball. Ollie does so, but Stan kicks the boy. When the boy complains that "the guy" kicked him, the father assumes it was Ollie and literally kicks Ollie's butt.
As the tough father steps away, Stan kicks his butt from behind. The father thinks that Ollie kicked him, and kicks Ollie's butt again. Stan is angry, and punches the tough guy in the face. He knocks out the tough father with that single punch. Ollie kicks down the boy's ball again, and the boy does not dare to protest.
Ollie finally opens the door to his 13th-floor apartment. His key jams in the door lock, and it linked with a chain to his pants. Ollie takes off his pants, to get inside. He sees too late that Stan managed to retrieved the key. Mrs. Gilbert exits her door, and sees Ollie in his underwear. They are both embarrassed, but Mrs. Gilbert hands over Lulu's love note. It was left in her apartment by mistake. Ollie is relieved. He is informed through a note that his wife has gone shopping, and that they have the apartment to themselves.
Stan asks Ollie for a cigarette, but Ollie is a non-smoker. Stan next asks permission to smoke his own pipe. Soon the living room is full of smoke, and Stan himself has a coughing fit. Ollie destroys Stan's pipe. Mrs. Hardy soon returns, and is already angry with Ollie for his delay. When Ollie introduces Stan to her, Mrs. Hardy reminds Ollie that he is not allowed to bring friends home. She refuses to cook for them, and uses some insulting terms for Stan. The couple have a loud argument, and Mrs. Hardy packs her suitcase and leaves the apartment. Ollie regrets marrying her, and advises Stan to never get married.
Stan wants to leave and return to the veteran's home, but Ollie insists that he can cook for his house-guest. Stan tries to light the gas stove with a match, and Ollie unwittingly helps him. Causing an explosion in the kitchen. Nobody is seriously harmed, but the apartment is damaged. Mrs. Gilbert politely offers to help out with cleaning it.
While cleaning, Ollie accidentally spills liquids from the kitchen on Mrs. Gilbert's dress. She is soaking wet. She tries to return to her apartment and change clothes, but realizes that she forgot her keys. She is locked out of her apartment. With no women's clothing left in his apartment, Ollie lends her a pair of his own pajamas. She exits his bedroom, dressed with oversized pajamas.
Ollie tries to get downstairs to ask for a spare key to Mrs. Gilbert's apartment, but sees Mrs. Hardy returning. He desperately tries to hide Mrs. Gilbert, because he fears that his wife will kills him if she sees another woman in his pajamas. Mrs. Hardy is angry about the condition of the apartment and interrogates Stan. She then attacks Ollie, because the car she borrowed to him is wrecked. They argue loudly, with Stan as a bewildered bystander.
Ollie announces that he is going to leave the apartment to his wife. He and Stan attempt to covertly transport Mrs. Gilbert out of the apartment, while she hides in a large trunk. Mrs. Hardy kicks Stan's butt from behind. As the argument continues, Mr. Gilbert returns to his apartment and overhears the argument next-door. He attempts to intervene in the fight, and figures that Stan is a homewrecker. He angrily brags about intending to shoot anyone who could threaten his own marriage.
When Mrs. Hardy steps away, Stan tells Mr. Gilbert that there is a woman in the trunk. Mr. Gilbert is amused, but advises Ollie to never bring mistresses home. He admits to cheating on his wife, but he does so when away from home. His wife overhears that confession, and angrily confronts him. Mr. Gilbert notices that she is wearing Ollie's pajamas, and figures that his wife is Ollie's mistress. As Ollie and Stan run away, Mr. Gilbert chases them with a loaded shotgun.,
Mr. Gilbert starts shooting at the two men, but misses his moving targets. They get to the street outside, and Mr. Gilbert keeps on shooting. At the sound of the shots, half-dressed men hiding in nearby apartments start trying to escape. They are implied to be the lovers of the other women in the area. The film ends, as the chase continues.
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