Nice effects though.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Boring

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

DURABLE, LONG-LASTING and a perennial favourute on CBS Siundays, this unlikely premise for a sitcom just would not quit. ED survived all of its competition by following a few simple rules. There was never any false notions about its being "high brow" or even "art." Secondly, it maintained a high level of on-going humor; in short, it was funny.WE ONCE HEARD a comment made by an acquaintance; whose acumen as a scribe or a film critic were just about naught. What he said was:"I think that MR. ED is kinda a copy of FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE!" HMMMMM! WELL THAT is surely a hard hypothesis to refute; so we'll concede the argument and try to concentrate on that which makes them different.WELL, OF COURSE the show has the same premise of that 1950's series of "B" Pictures. Starting with FRANCIS (Universal, 1950), there was a whole lot of "Francis the Talking Mule" movies. Aimed at the juvenile trade, all of the pictures save the last starred Donald O'Connor.* Co-starring as the voice of 'Francis' was the uncredited Chill Wills. Donald and Francis always managed to get into the most embarrassing situations and to run afoul of authority figures; being,. the Army, Newspapers, Family, Employers, what have you.WITH THE ARRIVAL of MR.ED, it was made perfectly clear that the angle of attack would be different. Instead of all the trouble and comical situations' being generated by the 4 legged protagonist's interaction with strangers, Ed and Wilbur Post's problems almost always concerned misunderstandings with Wilbur (the ever youthful, Alan Young) and his wife, Carol Post (Connie Hines) or his variously featured neighbors. Former Republic Pictures' Western Star, Allan "Rocky" Lane, provided the voice of Mister Ed. THE SERIES DID boast of some good writing, tight & economical direction and some appropriately perplexed reactions from the neighbors, portrayed by: Larry Keating, Edna Skinner, Leon Ames, Florence Mac Michael and others. In short, MISTER ED was much more domestic than those FRANCIS pictures.PERHAPS THE MOST memorable of the MISTER ED was its opening theme song. "A Horse is a Horse; of Course, of Course......" has been sung, revered and parodied for nearly a half century.IN THE CASE of many other themes, they are remembered long after their source (movie or series) has been forgotten. But that is not so here. As MISTER ED remains not just a fond memory; but continues to live on via the wonderful world of reruns.NOTE: * After several installments of the "Francis Franchise", Donald O'Connor left the series; stating that the Mule was getting more fan mail than he was. One additional FRANCIS movie was made; albeit with Mickey Rooney and Paul Frees providing the "Mule elocution."

Mister Ed was a sitcom that I remember well from my younger days growing up in New Jersey and Minnesota since it was a very funny, but one joke show that had a long run, thanks to the chemistry between star Alan Young and Mister Ed, whose would only talk to Wilbur. The scenes between the two would formulate most of the plots, such as the episode when Ed caused trouble and Wilbur locked him in his stall.Also contributing to the mayhem were Connie Hines, who recently passed away as Wilbur's wife Carol and Larry Keating and Edna Skinner as the Addisons. After Keating's death, his role was not recast and he was replaced by Leon Ames, who portrayed Gordon Kirkwood.The one episode that I remember the most was when Mister Ed played baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the horse slid into home plate. It was one of the show's most memorable moments.The theme song was a classic, salvaged by co-writer Jay Livingston's vocal after an opera singer sang the original so poorly that the producers were looking for a new theme. We'll always remember the opening line "A horse is a horse of course."

One of the sillier, but yet most beloved of comedy/fantasy shows that were so prevalent in the Sixties was that show about a talking horse, the famous Mister Ed. The talking palomino had a popularity with real children and those elusive children of all ages because of the skill of Alan Young making you really believe that a horse could talk with the voice of Allan 'Rocky' Lane.I'm sure for retired B picture cowboys who weren't getting too much work in the Sixties, Mister Ed must have provided a few nice paychecks for someone not in demand to be a cowboy hero any more. Lane's voice was well integrated into the personality of the palomino of whom evolution seems to have taken a quantum leap.The premise of the show was that Mister Ed would only talk directly to Alan Young as Wilbur Post, architect who set up his studio in the barn on his property so he could spend as much time as he could with his talking equine. I well remember in the pilot episode when Young acquired Mister Ed, the horse told him that he never felt like talking to anyone until he met Young whom he felt had a real love of animals. It was the love that came through every week.Young was married to Connie Hines who for five years couldn't figure out what this thing between Mister Ed and her husband was. Neither could anyone else and that led to the plot of most of the episodes.I have very fond memories of the show in my younger days. It was one of those shows that was in a totally make believe world. No politics or issues of social significance ever intruded on the world of Wilbur Post and Mister Ed. It was and is completely timeless, you could remake all the episodes today without too much trouble.In fact Mister Ed's primary source of mischief was the telephone extension in the studio/barn where he could call out anonymously to the world. When that receiver was picked up you knew Alan Young was in for 30 minutes of trouble. Can you imagine today what Mister Ed could do with a personal computer? The mind boggles.Though I can never see anyone ever with the gentle humorous style of Alan Young doing Wilbur Post today, I could be surprised. I'm willing to be.

"MISTER ED," in my opinion, is a must-see CBS hit! Despite the fact that I've never seen every episode, I still enjoyed it. It's hard to say which one is my favorite. Also, I really loved the theme song. If you ask me, even though I liked everyone, it would have been nice if everyone had stayed on the show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen on TV Land now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.