This is one of the more well-known Stan Laurel solo comedies, but in truncated form -- much of the Army footage is usually left out. It actually begins with Smithy (Laurel) as a private, making life miserable for his irascible sergeant (James Finlayson, who had a special talent for irascibility). When he finally enters civilian life, he has a hard time finding a job but finally lands work on a construction crew. But Smithy is no better at building a house than he was in the army -- he can barely get a roll of tar paper up to the roof. To make matters even more interesting, his old sergeant winds up being one of the workers, too, and once again he finds himself at the mercy of Smithy's eternal ineptitude. The owner of the firm decides to promote a certain Smith (Glenn Tryon) to foreman, but the secretary (Ena Gregory) thinks he means Smithy, and hands him the letter containing the promotion. Smithy has a field day with his new title, and immediately fires his old sergeant. The freshly built house keels over into a heap and Smithy (along with his old sergeant) both rejoin the service. Some of the jokes in this two-reeler wound up in the Laurel and Hardy silent, The Finishing Touch. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide