Originally published September 30, 2004 in The Harrisburg Patriot-News. 

So I'm pretty sure I have a problem. I think I'm addicted to old movies. Not just mildly interested, not just somewhat entertained, but completely and fully addicted. In August, Turner Classic Movies had a special deal where each day was devoted to one star of the 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s. I watched Katharine Hepburn day, Debbie Reynolds day, Doris Day day (I got a giggle out of typing that), and finally Ginger Rogers day. I would have loved to watch even more movies, but with work and graduate school, I was happy to have been able to see as much as I did. That's part of the problem: I always stay up watching these movies way later then I should. And then I giggle really loudly all throughout (the old comedies and musicals are my favorite); I feel like a total idiot as I sit alone in my apartment being serenaded by Fred Astaire. Sometimes Fred and I sing a duet. I'm glad to say that Fred and I have never danced together, because that would be just a little too far over the line.

Part of what fascinates me about these movies is how much the actors of the time worked! I mean, today, you do one movie, get $5 million and don't work for the next two years. The "golden age" actors did 2, 3, 4, even 5 movies a year! Ginger Rogers was in 5 movies in each 1934 and 1935. Can you imagine what would happen if someone went up to Julia Roberts and said, "I'm sorry, you have to do 5 movies next year."? She'd smack them in the face! Ginger Rogers did 76 movies between 1929 and 1965, and we're not talking minor roles and bit parts. We're talking major leading roles.

One of the Rogers movies I watched was Carefree, which was all about marriage, hypnosis, an old judge, and dancing. Tell me, why don't they make movies like this anymore? Then I stayed up to watch The Major and the Minor. It's about Susan (aka Susu aka Ginger Rogers) who poses as a 12 year old to get reduced fair on a train. In her attempt to remain undiscovered (she's really in her 20s) she runs into this guy named Philip Kirby who's a Major in the army. She ends up under the care of "Uncle Philip." Well, as all those stories went, Susu falls in love with Philip, and he falls in love with her, but instead of a twisted Lolita kind of thing, hilarity ensues.

Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of the current movies. And I like a lot of the current actors and actresses; but there is something about watching the way Fred Astaire or Grace Kelly moves, or the way that Cary Grant speaks. Every motion, every word is so fluid - it's a reflection of a time where everything was much simpler. Movies were used as an escape, a true escape, and they weren't always flashy and they had little or no special effects, but they captivated their audiences just by having Katharine Hepburn cock her head a certain way and share a secret smile with Spencer Tracy. Am I so wrong to want more of that? To spend a night curled on my couch lost in The Philadelphia Story and To Catch a Thief?

I love these movies. I'm willing to put up with the teasing from my friends and family when I say that one of my favorite movies is White Christmas and that I wish Bing Crosby could sing me to sleep every night. But I am concerned that a little too much of my time is invested in these old movies. After all, there is homework and my job and life in general. Maybe I should consult a specialist about my addiction. If anyone out there knows of any, preferably one who will hypnotize me into believing I'm married to Fred Astaire, let me know.