Summary
In 'All Over Twist', Archie Mayo orchestrates a kinetic exploration of pre-adolescent courtship, where thirteen-year-old Buddy Messinger attempts to navigate the labyrinthine social expectations of a lunch date with his twelve-year-old paramour, Sadie Campbell. The narrative pivots on the anthropomorphic spite of Maude the Mule, whose equine recalcitrance serves as a subversion of the traditional 'beast of burden' trope. When Maude, fueled by a jealousy that borders on the sentient, infiltrates the sanctity of the girl's domestic space, the film transforms from a quaint juvenile romance into a proto-surrealist comedy of errors. The domestic tranquility of the dining room is shattered, replaced by a chaotic choreography of animalistic intrusion that leaves the adult world, represented by Fred Spencer, utterly impotent. The second act shifts the milieu to the industrial heat of a bakery, where Messinger’s physicality is tested against the messy, tactile reality of pie-throwing and kitchen service. The film culminates in a whimsical, gravity-defying escape, as Buddy and Sadie transcend the earthly constraints of their environment via a giant balloon, drifting toward an ambiguous, utopian horizon.
Synopsis
13-year old Buddy (Buddy Messinger) woos his 12-year old girlfriend (Sadie Campbell) in this juvenile comedy vehicle for Messinger. Buddy uses his carriage led by Maudie (Maude, the Mule) to pick up the girl for a lunch date. Jealous of Buddy's attention to his girlfriend, Maudie decides to lie down instead of pull the carriage. When it's obvious that the animal won't behave, Maudie ends up inside of the girlfriend's house where her brother (Fred Spencer) unsuccessfully tries to get Maudie out of the dining room. Horrified guests look on as the animal wreaks havoc. The next act has Buddy at a bakery/restaurant owned by his father (Jack Henderson). Physical comedy scenes in the kitchen and Buddy serving as a busboy result in misadventures, including fun with pies. The film's final sequence finds Buddy having success as he uses a giant balloon to finally get some quality time with his girlfriend as they sail off to parts unknown.
