Summer Stock : SUN, SAND AND SURF TO KEEP YOU AND YOUR VCR HUMMING THROUGH THE HEAT

Summertime and the living isn’t so easy these days. The beaches are crowded. The freeways have turned into massive parking lots. Camping areas are booked months in advance. It’s a veritable battle of the bugs at picnic gatherings. Then there are all those health warnings about exposure to the sun’s rays. It’s enough to give one the summertime blues. So how to enjoy hot summertime fun?

Put on your summer best--shorts and a T-shirt will do nicely--make a pitcher of iced tea or lemonade, open up a bag of pretzels or potato chips (low-fat, natch) and pop a movie into your VCR. But not just any movie. Your local video store has numerous videos dealing with all aspects of summer: summer in the city, summer in the country, summer at the beach, summer love.

Below, a selective guide to some the best of summer--on video:

Picnic (Columbia/TriStar): Though William Inge’s 1953 Broadway play hasn’t aged well, the lush 1955 film version has withstood the test of time.

William Holden stars in the romantic drama as Hal, a handsome drifter who arrives in a small Kansas town during the Labor Day weekend to visit an old college buddy (Cliff Robertson) in hopes of getting a job at his father’s granary. Kim Novak plays Madge, Roberton’s beautiful girlfriend who falls in love with the wild, cynical Hal. Rosalind Russell is Rosemary, an old maid school teacher desperate for her boyfriend (Arthur O’Connell) to marry her. Susan Strasberg co-stars as Millie, Madge’s brainy but plain younger sister, who develops a crush on Hal.

Shot on location in Kansas, “Picnic” was beautifully directed by Joshua Logan. Special kudos go to his handling of the sexy, lyrical dance sequence between Hal and Madge set to”Moonglow.” It’s one of the most romantic scenes put on film.

Performances are generally fine, though Holden is a bit long-in-the-tooth as Hal and Novak is a tad awkward in her more dramatic moments. George Duning wrote the breathtaking score; Daniel Taradash did an excellent job adapting Inge’s one-set play, expanding the action and enriching the characters; and James Wong Howe’s gorgeous cinematography also enhances the experience.

Summertime (Nelson Entertainment): Based on Arthur Laurents’ play “The Time of the Cuckoo,” this charming 1955 comedy-drama stars Katharine Hepburn in an exquisite, Oscar-nominated turn as a spinster school teacher who spends her summer in Venice. Stylishly directed by David Lean who also co-adapted the script with H.E. Bates. Jack Hildyard supplied the gorgeous, vibrant cinematography. Rossano Brazzi co-stars as the handsome married man who woos Hepburn.

Gidget (Columbia/Tristar): Sandra Dee puts the “P” in perky in this lightweight 1959 comedy about a bubbly California teen who falls in love with two men one summer when she hangs out at the beach. James Darren stars as Moondoggie, the love of her life, and Cliff Robertson is the aging surf bum she has a crush on. The film was adapted from Frederick Kohner’s novel, which is actually based on his daughter’s life. The movie was such a success it spawned the 1961 “Gidget Goes Hawaiian” (Columbia/TriStar) with Deborah Walley as the “girl midget”; and “Gidget Goes to Rome” (Columbia/TriStar) with Cindy Carol taking over the Gidget reins. “Gidget” also spawned three TV movies as well as the 1965 TV series with Sally Field and the ‘80s syndicated version starring Caryn Richman.

Beach Party (Warner Home Video): Surf’s up! In 1963, American International Pictures got the great idea of teaming singing idol Frankie Avalon and Walt Disney sex symbol Annette Funicello in a series of campy comedies about sun, sand and surfing in California. In this first venture, Robert Cummings (looking a tad embarrassed) plays an old-fogy anthropologist studying teen-agers’ wild ways only to discover the younger generation has a lot to offer. Dorothy Malone, Harvey Lembeck as the biker Erik Von Zipper and Jody McCrea (son of Joel McCrea) also star with Frankie and Annette. The next year, Frankie and Annette reunited for “Muscle Beach Party” (HBO Video; Video Treasures), an inane but entertaining romp that finds the beach invaded by a group of body builders. Don Rickles also stars. The best of the lot is 1965’s “Beach Blanket Bingo” (HBO Video; Video Treasures), a piece of fluff involving a mermaid, parachute lessons, a kidnaping and Buster Keaton. Linda Evans, Deborah Walley and Paul Lynde also are around for the fun ride. After 20 years, Frankie and Annette hit the waves again in 1987’s “Back to the Beach” (Paramount Home Video). Though Frankie and Annette still have charm to spare, the film’s pretty much of a fizzle.

The Long Hot Summer (Fox Video): Martin Ritt directed this juicy, sizzling 1958 drama based on William Faulkner’s story “The Hamlet.” Adapted by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., “Long Hot Summer” stars Paul Newman as Ben Quick, a drifter with a past, who arrives in a small Southern town. He becomes involved with the quick-witted daughter (Joanne Woodward) of a domineering Southern landowner (Orson Welles) and decides to stay. Lee Remick, Anthony Franciosa and Angela Lansbury round out the strong supporting cast.

Bull Durham (Orion Home Video): Summer wouldn’t be summer without a baseball movie. And “Bull Durham” just happens to be one of the best: sassy, sexy, literate and extremely funny. Ron Shelton wrote and made his directorial debut with this 1988 box-office smash about a minor league baseball team in North Carolina and the sultry groupie (a terrific Susan Sarandon) who, each season, picks out a young player to personally “coach” during the season. Though Hollywood is waiting to see if Kevin Costner’s career survives the mega-costly “Waterworld,” due for release July 28, one look at his sexy performance in “Bull Durham” as veteran minor league player Crash Davis and you know why he became a star. Tim Robbins is wonderfully engaging as the dumb-as-a-stump young pitcher Sarandon takes under her wing. A grand slam home run.

A Summer Place (Warner Home Video): A guilty pleasure. This 1959 melodrama is great cornball soap opera featuring then-hot teen talent, some terrific veteran actors and Max Steiner’s now-classic score.

Delmar Daves wrote and directed the adaptation of Sloan Wilson’s novel revolving around adultery and some hot and heavy, at least for 1959, hanky-panky among the teen-age crowd at a Maine coastal resort. Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Dorothy McGuire, Richard Egan, Arthur Kennedy and Constance Ford star. Harry Stradling supplied the shimmering cinematography. You’ll love it.

Summer Stock: (MGM/UA) Judy Garland’s last film for MGM may not be one of her best, but the colorful 1950 musical comedy is still engaging fun. Garland plays a young woman who gets the acting bug when her farm is taken over by a troupe of performers. Gene Kelly also stars as the troupe’s leader. The highlight is Garland’s classic “Get Happy” number. Gloria DeHaven, Phil Silvers and Eddie Bracken offer fun support.