The Big Noise: A Cozy Little Mess from 1936

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s B-movies that don't quite know what genre they want to be, sure. It’s light, it moves fast, and it doesn't ask you to think too hard. If you’re looking for a tight script or anything approaching realistic crime, you’re going to be annoyed by how fast the gangsters just... disappear. It’s not exactly Hobson's Choice, but it has that same 'cranky older guy starts over' energy.

The plot is basically three different movies glued together with tape. We start in a boardroom, shift to a sunny California retirement, and end up in a dry cleaning shop that apparently sits on the border of a mafia warzone. The transition is, uh, abrupt.

The Cleaning Fluid Plot

Guy Kibbee plays the retired magnate, and he’s doing that thing where he looks constantly confused but also kind of delighted by it. Watching him pretend to be a regular guy running a dry cleaner is charming in a way I didn't expect. He’s got this partner, Ken, who has invented some kind of 'special cleaning fluid.' Nobody ever explains what’s in it, but it apparently solves every problem in the movie. Convenient, right?

There’s a moment where Ken splashes mud on a girl, and instead of calling the police or just walking away, he offers to clean her dress. It’s the ultimate 1930s 'meet-cute.' The dialogue during this bit is so stiff you could use it to build a deck. But hey, it works for the story.

• The gangsters are so generic they might as well be cardboard cutouts.
• The 'Woolex' synthetic wool subplot is actually the most realistic part of the movie.
• I’m still not sure if the dry cleaning shop is a front or if they’re actually cleaning clothes.

The Big Finish

The finale is where things get truly silly. Our hero just decides to play two mob bosses against each other like he’s playing a game of checkers. They just start blasting each other in the street and that’s the end of that. It’s almost like the writers got tired and wanted to go home.

It’s a bit like watching Chasing Trouble, where the stakes are supposed to be high but the tone keeps drifting toward a light comedy. It doesn't quite stick the landing, and frankly, I don't think it tried to. You watch it for the weird rhythm, not for the plot holes.

It’s messy. It’s dated. It’s barely an hour long. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you need on a Tuesday night. Just don’t ask why nobody at the dry cleaner ever seems to worry about the actual, you know, dry cleaning. 🧼