I turned on the TV today and it was already on Turner Classic Movies and Dial M for Murder was on. Although slightly bummed I had missed the first half, I grinned to myself and thought YES!!!

I remember watching as a young girl on Frances Farmer Theater broadcast out of Indianapolis, as a teenager when it would be featured on the late movie, and so forth until my 30’s. Then we got a VCR and I would go down to this little hole in the wall video store and stare at all the classic movies I could now watch at will instead of waiting/hoping for one to show up on the schedule.

When that happened, I watched some old movies for awhile and then, well, they were so easy to get that it didn’t seem so special. DVD rental stores and Redbox seemed to come up with a constant stream of new movies and the early video stores that usually had a young person sitting behind a counter reading a book while he minded the store faded away.

Movies would become old box office before I even realized they had been in theaters. There are a multitude of movies of which I have no knowledge – sometimes to my good fortune. TV’s got bigger and clearer and there was microwavable movie popcorn. That’s fine, but it just doesn’t seem as special.

I like the idea of a treat that harkens back to the days when you had to wait for it – to get lucky. Black & White, Hitchcock, dialogue, great plots, old-time movie stars. And I do mean old time, as in old enough that my parents would say something like, “Look how young Ray Milland looks” and with a sigh, remark about Bing Crosby, “He just can’t sing like he used to.”

Of course, now the “young” Ray Milland who looked old to me as a young girl now appears young to me as well. And alive. Sorry, bad taste to type that little aside.

Movies like Dial M for Murder demanded that you listen to and savor every line of dialogue. Hitchcock had filmed the movie in the manner in which it had been a hit play – pretty much in one location, instead of using multiple scenes to depict the action. You have to pay attention as the characters tell you what happened. And with just that, with no special effects, no computers, he created tremendous suspense. The pieces click together so smoothly, the plot is a true art form. Yes, I’m using present tense: movies such as this will always relevant and good, very good.