S1, episodes 23 and 24

1.23 

British actor John Williams actor (in is 2nd of 10 appearances in the series) is digging in his basement. There's a nice shot where the camera (from his perspective) sizes up the hole and then his wife standing on the far side of it. So this is to be her grave? 

They plan a long stay in California (the servant is laying dust covers all their furniture). Before leaving, they have tea with friends, and the camera focuses on the protagonist standing by a wall, listening to the pointless chatter. This is well directed, and then I check to see that it's AH himself at the reins. 

Not an action-packed episode nor a great ending, but I like it a lot thanks to Williams and Hitchcock.

1.24. 

AH begins with knife in is back. Narration introduces our characters. Aunt Rosie inherits a lot of money. There are two adult sons (one a rascal, one broke) drooling over the money, which they’ll get when she dies. She has a talking parrot. Ugh, will the parrot be vital to the plot? 

So the rascally one moves in with her and has the gruesome idea to put ground glass in her food. We see it being ground with a mortar and pestle. This grisliness is the best part of an otherwise forgettable  episode.