Is aluminum wiring the cause of this strange electrical activity?
Do you know if any of the outlets in the house are newer or all original? Reason I ask is newer outlets are often designed for copper wires only. And mixing aluminum with copper wires is a no-no, it corrodes. Corroded wires can then lead to bad grounds (as if any house from the 50s even used grounds) or arcing.

If the breaker is getting warm, it could be a short somewhere causing that line to draw more power than it's designed for. The breaker is suppose to trip and prevent that, but something could be faulty.  I can only guess without seeing the type of box you have.

You should consider having an electrician come out and look at it.  Shouldn't cost too much just to have someone inspect the box.