As early as 1919, Russian Communists (then known as Bolsheviks) were convenient movie villains. This heavy-handed comedy uses the Russian revolution as an excuse for a series of slapstick set pieces.
Ollie is a love-struck private who is drilled by his unsympathetic lieutenant at reveille. The colonel of the regiment wants his daughter to marry the lieutenant but she has her heart set on the chubby-faced Hardy, who himself is in love with another woman. He is thrown into a cell for disobeying orders, where he later escapes with the assistance of his sweetheart, and a casual touch of assault when he bumps the guard with his large stomach. The final chase scene ends with everyone getting what they want.
Plump and Runt are starving artists who are both in love with their pretty model. Runt chooses money over love and marries a widow he thinks is rich. It turns out the model is the real heiress, and Plump marries her.
Plump and Runt are on opposite sides of a mountain feud. Then government revenue agents arrive and both families join together to run off the common enemy.
When his uncle arrives for a visit, Plump has to find a wife and baby in a hurry. With the help of his friend, Runt, soon there are wives and babies everywhere.
Policeman Patrick McQuade, of the traffic squad, has a sweetheart. Patrick has a rival in Policeman Flynn, who does not stop at anything to depreciate Patrick in Nora's eyes.