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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: 10/6/2009
Director: Various
Cast: Alan Young, Connie Hines, Allan Lane
Year: 1960
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The Series:
Premiering in on televisions across America in 1960, Mister Ed, a series about a talking horse, became an unlikely hit and has since gone on to become something of a pop culture institution. When the series begins, a newly married couple named Wilber (Alan Young) and Carol (Connie Hines), are moving in to their newly purchased home out in the middle of the quaint countryside. The house seems perfect at first - it's got lots of space and it's very well kept. And then they realize that it comes with a surprise in the form of a goofy old horse living out in the barn. Initially Carol wants to sell the guy, but he's smart enough to fain injury when the horse buyer comes around and before you know it (and much to Wilbur's delight) they've got themselves a new pet.
Later that same day, while doing some soul searching and talking out loud to himself in the barn, the horse speaks. Wilbur at first thinks he's losing his mind but soon enough he finds himself having an actual conversation with the critter. The catch? The horse, named Mister Ed (and voiced by an uncredited Allan Lane) won't talk to anybody else but Wilbur. Not unexpectedly, Carol and the neighbor, Roger Addison (Larry Keating), suspect Wilbur might be nuts…
Brought to television by producer Arthur Lubin, best known for the many Abbott And Costello films he directed decades prior, Mister Ed is a much funnier show than it really should have been. It's not a secret that Lubin based the series on the Francis The Talking Mule films he'd helped rake in during his stint at Universal. The very idea of a talking horse doesn't at first seem like one ripe with a multitude of possibilities but the writing team actually manage to make it all work surprisingly well. Ed's given a real personality and Lane, who sounds surprisingly like you would expect a horse to sound could a horse actually talk, really helps flesh out the character. While Ed isn't all that deep, he's at least got enough of a personality that his wise cracks are funny and his interplay with Wilbur is both charming in a nostalgic sense and often times quite hilarious. This does, however, demand that Wilbur and Ed are the anchors of the show, so whenever the focus shifts towards neighborly relations or domestic issues between husband and wife, it's a little too easy to lose interest.
Regardless, the good outweighs the bad, at least in terms of this first season's content. Wilber finds himself the constant butt of Roger's teasing, often times finding himself set up to amuse the guy next door at his own expense. His relationship with his wife seems fairly superficial in that weird sixties sitcom way, but Hines is infectiously cute as Carol and while she might seem a little vapid at times, typical of the 'sixties housewife' character, it's hard not to like her.
The complete listing of the episodes that make up the first season of Mister Ed is as follows:
Disc One:
The First Meeting / The Ventriloquist / Busy Wife / Kiddy Park / Stable For Three / Sorority House / Ed The Lover / The Pageant Show
Disc Two:
The Aunt / The Missing Statue / Ed The Witness / Ed's Mother / Ed The Tout / Ed The Songwriter / Ed The Stoolpigeon/ Psychoanalyst Show
Disc Three:
A Man For Velma / Ed's New Shoes / Little Boy / Ed Agrees To Talk / The Mustache / The Other Woman / Ed Cries Wolf / The Contest
Disc Four:
Pine Lake Lodge / Wilbur Sells Ed
As is always the case with television, some episodes fare better than others and not every single one in this set is a winner but the good does outweigh the bad. Sometimes the jokes get repetitive but that sort of predictability can be a comfort in a way - you expect Ed to make life difficult for Wilber whenever possible, in fact you want him to, because it's funny. It's not realistic, or even always very well thought out, but expecting that from a TV show based around a talking horse is probably asking too much. As far as harmless, lighthearted comedy goes, Mister Ed holds up well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Mr. Ed is presented in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio in glorious black and white. Aside from the fact that this material is all interlaced, the image is pretty good. There's some mild print damage but given the show's age that's forgivable and really, unless you're looking for it you're probably not even going to notice it. The contrast levels look good, detail is stronger than you'd probably expect, and while there's a little bit of shimmer, this is otherwise a nice looking set.
The English language Dolby Digital Mono track is obviously limited in range but the dialogue is easy to understand and the levels are properly balanced. There aren't any recurring problems with hiss to complain about even if there are occasional instances of audible distortion and as far as older TV shows go, this one sounds just fine.
There aren't a ton of supplements in this set but there are a couple worth mentioning starting with an interview segment with stars Alan Young and Connie Hines. The segment starts with Young flying solo, Hines joins in a few minutes later. The pair remembers pretty fondly their time together on the show and reminisces about what it was like to work on a series that has since become rather iconic. There's further reminiscing in the audio commentary that appears for the pilot episode where the pair are joined by a moderator. Unfortunately a lot of this track is simply made up by telling us what's on screen and there's a fair bit of dead air. Young does comment, however, that he really enjoyed the fact that he got to 'smooch' with Hines so much in the series. The pair has a sense of humor about their work and don't take any of it all too seriously all the while coming off as sincerely nice people.
Aside from that, look for some nifty menu screens, episode selection, and trailers for a few other unrelated Shout! Factory properties.
The Final Word:
Interlaced transfer aside, Shout! Factory has done right on this release, offering up the complete first season of this legendary (and still very funny) television show in very nice quality and with some light but welcome extra features. Recommended? Of course, of course!