The real star of the show is Allan "Rocky" Lane

It's unimaginable what this show would be without the deadpan delivery of Rocky Lane, who, of course, did the voice of Mr. Ed. Watching a couple of Lane's westerns on YouTube gave me pause because his real voice is nothing like the down-home, sad sack baritone he uses in the series, which makes it more remarkable because when he's doing his Mr. Ed voice he becomes at one with the horse. There's a sympathy and humanity that Lane conveys that at times can be touching and real.

Of course, Alan Young's work is noteworthy also because he was either playing his scenes to no sound or a crew member reading Mr. Ed's lines which the actor had to react to. Even with the technical challenges, the interplay between Young and Ed/Lane is comparable to any of the great comedy teams.