Maybe I am the only person still alive who prefers THE POLICE QUARTET above all other Vitaphone music shorts from the late 1920s. Hearing four guys blend four tunes with four sets of lyrics into one smooth round goes way beyond what we did with "Row Row Row Your Boat" in fourth grade music class, but maybe that's just me. That being said, in the 8 minute, 43.06-short titled WHEN EAST MEETS WEST (Vitaphone #2236, NOT to be confused with Vitaphone #2239 which came out from the SAME couple at about the SAME time, titled THE COWBOY AND THE GIRL) comic pianist Ray Mayer and his blonde main squeeze Edith Evans warm up the microphone with three songs. Their final selection, "Side by Side," is probably their strongest entry, as well as being perhaps the best known of the tunes today. Does this mean that THE COWBOY AND THE GIRL, which I have NOT seen as of this writing, is now on my must-see list? Though the title of #2239 has a slightly hotter ring to it than that of #2236, I honestly feel I've had my fill of Mayer & Evans for now.
Review of When East Meets West
