TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“The Best of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Vol. 1.” MCA. $29.95. Three 1950s-vintage episodes from Hitchcock’s memorable black-and-white TV series are packaged here: “Lamb to the Slaughter,” “The Case of Mr. Pelham” and “Banquo’s Chair.” The good news is that they don’t have commercials. The bad news is that, even though all three were directed by the master himself, they haven’t held up the way his films have. By today’s standards, the pacing is slow, the acting stiff, the editing jumpy. And though Hitchcock builds some suspense in each, the “surprise” endings are regrettably mild. 1/2