Like many people these days, I’m not skimping on the indoor entertainment budget. I’ve splurged recently and signed up for two online streaming services. Add to that the DVD rentals to which I still subscribe, plus cable television, which has its own delights, chiefly the movie channels.

I’ve been watching one of those the last couple of evenings. Strangely enough, though I could choose from a wide variety of streaming programs, it’s the more limited menu of old black-and-white films that’s holding my attention most these days. 

This probably says something about the limits of choice, but what it’s doing most is reminding me fondly of those old-fashioned late shows. Back when television had a sign-off time and binge-watching wasn’t yet possible, I would stumble upon “The Blackboard Jungle” or “The Philadelphia Story” when I was babysitting or after returning from my 3-11 p.m. shift at Jerry’s Restaurant. 

I was the only one awake in the house. It was just me and the movie — be it comedy or drama or romance. It was then, I think, that I learned to love film. And watching these old movies now, sometimes once again the only one awake in the house, reminds me of those early discoveries. How good they were then; how good they are still.

(Photo of “The Philadelphia Story” courtesy IMBD)