Trama

Oliver suffers a nervous breakdown as a result of working in a horn factory, but after he follows doctor's orders about getting some sea air, he finds an ex-con is aboard.

After working in the noisy horn factory, just the sound of one drives Oliver into a violent fit. Dr. Finlayson prescribes a long, restful sea voyage, so Stan and Oliver rent a boat and set sail, unaware that escaped killer Nick Grainger has stowed away onboard. To disable the crook, the boys prepare him a meal using string for spaghetti, sponges for meatballs and soap for cheese. But Grainger discovers their plan and decides to make them eat the stuff themselves.—Paul Penna <tterrace@wco.com>

An ambulance races through town. It stops in front of the Sharp and Pierce horn manufacturing company and a man is brought out on a stretcher, honking a horn and giggling insanely; the factory owner explains to a policeman that the G-minor-toned horn commonly causes his workers to lose their minds.

In the factory, the owner turns down his hearing aid and steps into the horn testing room. At one table, he finds employees Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy hard at work. Calling for silence in the cacophonous room, he asks Oliver to change the tone of the insane man's horn to a G-minor. Ollie begins work on the horn but soon becomes frustrated with the din of honking and asks Stan how he can work in the racket. Stan tells him the noise doesn't bother him. After a few more moments Ollie becomes fully agitated, tipping over the worktable and yelling. His boss tells him to go home and get some rest. Stan accompanies his friend.

At their apartment, the pair call a doctor to examine Ollie. While they wait, they are tortured by maintenance problems in their apartment, such as water coming from the wrong faucet or the doorbell flying off the wall and striking Ollie. Continually exasperated, Ollie complains to the building maintenance man, a crossed-eye Bun Turpin, who tells him everything seems OK. The doctor, James Finlayson, arrives and begins to examine Hardy, first by checking his pulse -- a process interrupted when Stan, sitting in a rocking chair, leans forward repeatedly, pressing a wailing doll left behind by a young visitor. The doctor then tests Oliver's lung capacity with a large balloon. When the balloon bursts, the bed collapses, the doc is knocked to the floor and he diagnoses Ollie with "hornophobia". If Ollie doesn't get peace and quiet soon, he'll lapse into full-blown "hornomania". He recommends that Ollie start a strict diet of goat's milk and take an ocean cruise and that the salt air will soothe his nerves. Ollie rebukes the idea but Stan recommends they simply rent a boat and keep it docked, which will be just the same as sailing.

Meanwhile, the utility problems persist, especially when Stan tries to make Ollie some tea while Ollie takes a hot bath. Ollie storms out, intending to talk to the building maintenance man and, after talking to his neighbor across the hall, becomes even more furious. While he's out, Stan's trombone instructor, the Italian-accented Professor O'Brien, arrives for Stan's latest lesson. They both begin to play just as Ollie arrives with a black eye. The noise from the trombones instantly sets Ollie off and in a rage, he throws O'Brien out. While on the phone yelling at the building's operator about sending too many visitors to his place, Stan emerges from his hiding place in the closet, knocking Ollie out the window. Ollie is suspended 2 floors up by the phone and its cord. Stan grabs the mattress and rushes downstairs, throwing it in the back of their car. When he backs up to position the mattress under Ollie, he crashes through the wall into the lobby. In the meantime, the phone cord gives way and Ollie thumps to the ground. Stan drives the car over Ollie, who is unharmed and pops up behind it. When he raps Stan on the head with a brick, Stan's reaction is delayed a few seconds.

The duo arrive at a seaside marina and rent a boat -- Prickly Heat -- from the harbor master. They settle in and tie the goat, Narcissus, that Stan brought a long for its milk, to a post on the dock. They both go to sleep, intending to get breakfast in the morning at a nearby restaurant. A couple of hours after they turn in, a notorious criminal, Nick Granger, wanted for armed robbery, evades a policeman and slips aboard the boat, hiding in the lifeboat. The goat begins chewing at the rope holding the boat to the dock and the boat drifts off.

In the morning, Ollie and Stan wake up and prepare to go out for breakfast. They're met immediately by Granger who threatens them. Ollie tells Stan to get a cop. When Stan realizes they're adrift on the ocean and sees from the newspaper that Granger is the subject of a nationwide manhunt, he informs Ollie. Granger shows them his "partner", his pistol who he's named "Nick Jr". He tells the two to fix him a meal. When they protest that they haven't brought any supplies, he becomes more fierce, ordering them below. Ollie suggests they make him a fake meal -- they'll use twine to make spaghetti, a cut-up sponge for meatballs, red paint for tomato sauce, the ribbon from a kerosene lamp for bacon and they'll strain some tobacco for coffee. They think the meal will poison Nick enough to overpower him. They also read in the paper that there's a $10,000 reward for Granger's capture. Ollie believes he'll get the reward and that he an Stan will live comfortably on the money. However Nick, watching from a sun hatch above the kitchen, sees what they're up to.

Back at the harbor, the harbor master talks to the police aboard their patrol boat and tells them the Prickly Heat and its renters have disappeared. The police captain says they'll patrol and keep an eye out.

When he's served, Nick forces the two to eat what they've prepared. They miserably eat what they've made until Ollie begins to choke. While Nick is distracted with Ollie, Stan spots his nearby trombone. He begins to play it and Ollie's temper dissolves and he throws his hot coffee at Nick and pounds him with the empty cup. After a few moments, Stan's trombone comes apart and he desperately tries to reassemble it while Nick rampages after Ollie. Stan finally gets his trombone working again and frantically begins playing. Ollie goes berserk and is able to overpower Nick, throwing him down into the cabin. Nick lands on Ollie, destroying his trombone and is knocked senseless. Ollie spots the police harbor patrol and signals them. When the police arrive, the Captain immediately identifies Nick and tells Ollie and Stan they can expect the reward. When he asks how they were able to subdue the criminal, Stan tells him he played his trombone, working Ollie into a frenzy. He plays the broken instrument again to demonstrate and Ollie becomes enraged and steps up to the Captain.

The last scene shows Ollie and Stan being led in chains to the local jail by the mauled Captain. He asks what cell Nick Granger's in and marches the duo there with Ollie proclaiming to Stan, "This is another fine mess you've gotten me into!"