I've seen a few wiring failures in 1960/70s light fittings - typically insulation in the first 100mm of wiring coming to the light perishes and creates a short circuit. Can potentially be fixed by chopping off the dodgy section of cable and pulling enough loose length from the ceiling. If not, it may require the whole cable run to be replaced. Shouldn't trigger rewiring the whole house, even if it is potentially a good idea.
Shouldn't be a shocking (ha ha) bill - perhaps $100-200
You can change it, its not that hard, BUT, due to the age of the wiring and the fault, I'd recommend getting someone in to do it. That cable is probably stuffed at the fitting.
Use the opportunity to get anything else questionable checked and/or changed at the same time, it wont cost much more.
Light "bulbs" have a lead based contact point which can get hot and in time melt out of shape thus causing a bad connection to the sprung terminals of the light socket. The springs also deteriorate with heat. All of this is exacerbated by high wattage bulbs and/or enclosed fittings.
The bad connection can then arc and cause heating, burning and arcing on the light socket.
If your wiring is TRS or VIR (R = rubber) the heat will also perish the insulation which will then break when even slightly moved. If such damage is found by an electrician they are obliged to advise the homeowner that rewiring is necessary to make the installation safe.
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