Al Lyons and His Four Horsemen

Al Lyons and His Four Horsemen (1929)

** (out of 4)

The "horsemen" should have been called "monkeys" in this rather weak Vitaphone short. The title group, making their one and only film appearance, do a couple numbers for us and in between them they act rather silly. The film starts off with Edith Murray joining the band for "Some of These Days" and right from this moment you know this thing isn't going to work. We then get a few instrumentals as the band members act silly as if they were trying to be comedians. I must say that this here was one of the biggest disappointments I've seen from a music-only Vitaphone short. I say this because none of the music is all that catchy and it seems as even here the band is just trying to be over-the-top and silly. Even worse is the "comedy" act, which is downright embarrassing at times. It too never gets a single laugh and even worse is how over-the-top and forced it all is. This one here is strictly for those who must see every Vitaphone short out there.