Editorial | Invasion of the phone zombies | Dennis Box

I like to watch movies. I grew up watching movies with my grandma and I knew all the stars from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s by the time I was 10.

I watched part of “A Summer Place” Sunday. It’s a 1959 picture starring Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue as steamy teenagers. They are playing across Richard Egan and one of old Hollywood’s greatest, Dorothy McGuire.

I thought the film held up better today then it did in the ‘60s.

The cinematographer, Harry Stradling Sr., was a pioneer with Technicolor. He knew how to shoot a scene.

Here is another movie we might consider from the ‘50s that can inform us about our world today — the 1956 film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” directed by Don Seigel, staring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter.

At the time it was made it was making reference to the communist hunting going on in Hollywood and across the county.

The picture could be recast today as “Invasion of the Phone Zombies.”

I am occasionally accused of being grumpy by everyone who even marginally knows me or sees me.

Despite what has been rumored, I am Mr. Happy-Happy — you know, joy to the world and all that stuff.

However, smarty-pants phones have been making me a little grouchy lately.

There has been some discussion by a certain writer (who shall remain anonymous, we will call her Kris Hill) talking about the wonders of her stupid smart phone.

I have a phone that is meant for talking, rather than communicating with the god of lunacy, for a price and a contract.

If I am not mistaken a guy with funny hair named Faust taught us something about contracts.

But someone likes to put her phones in a reclining lawn chair next to her computer with a palm tree and sun lamp.

I am not saying that is weird, but, just think about the invasion of the phone zombies.

I can see myself right now. Just like Kevin McCarthy playing Dr. Miles J. Bennell, I will be trapped in my office with Dana Wynter playing Becky. The zombies have us surrounded, waving their smart phones at us maliciously.

Becky gives the best line of the movie at this point. “Why don’t they give us a shot or a sleeping pill or something?”

At that point I have to say something cool so the girl doesn’t think I’m a dope and run off with the phone zombie and ruin the movie.

I have discovered, covertly, I am not the only one left fighting the dumb phone cause.

The other day I was at a meeting and Andy the Great nodded for me to come over to him.

He turned sideways so no one could see, then pulled out his phone and smiled.

It was a dumb phone.

A fellow traveler sent me an email yesterday quietly admitting he also had a dumb phone and intended to keep it.

Oh yeah. We are out there. The struggle continues.

Soon we will be expected to put our phones in a reclining chair, play music to be bored by and make little bug sacrifices to it at noon.

As Dr. Miles J. Bennell said at the end of the movie — be careful, you could be next.