Charlie takes a job as a janitor in the home of Colonel Nutt, a munitions manufacturer. As the butler introduces Charlie to the ill-tempered cook, Colonel Nutt demonstrates his new wireless explosive device to his daughter. Meanwhile, agents of the Pretzelstrass meet with the Count to devise a plan to get at Colonel Nutt's device. Charlie carelessly dumps garbage all over the maid and her newly clean floor. He takes the trash can and dumps it over the fence, inundating the Count in the process. Back in the kitchen, the maid scolds Charlie, but then becomes emotional, and he comforts her. The Count enters the house, and is hit by a wet rag thrown by the maid, intended for Charlie. The Count tosses it off to the side, and it winds up hitting the cook also, and when the cook begins to act cruelly towards the maid in return, Charlie sticks up for her. The Count makes his way to the Colonel, who rejects his offers and has the Count ejected by way of the butler.
His day's work done, Charlie makes his way to a flophouse for a night's sleep. At this point, a pickpocket holds up the Count, but instead of taking his money he agrees to join the caper to liberate Dr. Nutt of his invention. The conversation is overheard by a cop, who then runs off to inform his fellow officers; they are in an abandoned lot, shooting craps. They storm the Nutt house, and highly disrupt its resident, but explain to him that they "are on the trail of a great robbery."
Back at the flophouse, Charlie is prevented from settling down by a loud, singing drunk whom he eventually- and somewhat affectionately- dispatches with a champagne bottle. A thief steals in during the night and robs the singing drunk, and although Charlie takes what he thinks are adequate precautions, he is robbed also. Charlie disguises himself under the blankets and manages to get his money back from the thief, but when the thief tries to stab him it wakes everyone up and a fight breaks among all of the men. Charlie manages to escape, dodging several cops on the way. However, he runs into the pickpocket on the street; recognizing him as an old friend, Charlie agrees to help him find a mark, and leads him to the Nutt house.
The cops are all still there; lying around, smoking, waiting for something to happen. Pandemonium breaks out when the pickpocket enters the house, and amid the chaos, Colonel Nutt's explosive device is detonated, blowing all of the cops skyward. In the aftermath, the pickpocket is buried in a heap of rubble and Charlie is seen poking his head out of the kitchen stove.
Triple Trouble is a two-reel silent comedy film that was released in 1918. It starred Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance and Leo White. This film was not an official Chaplin film, even though it has many Chaplin directed scenes; it was edited together out of outtakes and newly shot footage by the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, with Leo White as director for the new scenes. Since Chaplin did not have legal control over the films made during his time with Essanay, he could not prevent its release.
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Leo White
Produced by Jess Robbins
Written by Charlie Chaplin
Leo White
Starring:
Charles Chaplin
Billy Armstrong
Edna Purviance
Leo White
Release date - August 11, 1918
Creative Commons License: Public Domain.