In the Fall of 1963, KULR-TV in Billings Montana hired a man named Herb McAllister to perform his popular kids’ show “Happy Herb and Froggy Doo” on the air. Froggy Doo was a frog marionette that Herb had created, and the show had already been popular for eight years in Great Falls, Montana. Here’s a clip from the movie with Henry Winkler as Herb:

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In 1966, burglars broke into KULR-TV and stole thousands of dollars of equipment along with Froggy Doo. They sent a ransom note demanding $150.00 plus $10.00 in quarters (weird, huh?), which caught the attention of the Sherriff’s Department and the FBI because of the extortion. Froggy Doo’s body was found hanging from a fencepost a few days later, and the head was found in the back seat of a car in downtown Billings.

The Froggy Doo website doesn’t say who was charged with the crime (or if they were ever caught), but the movie “A Plumm Summer” brings the story to life and to it’s conclusion.  Chris J. Kelly plays teenager Elliott Plumm, who has a hard time making friends and so spends most of his time with his little brother Rocky, who is obsessed with the TV show Froggy Doo. They live with their mother Roxie (Lisa Guerrero)  and their Dad Mick (played by William Baldwin), who is a former boxer who now spends most of the time drinking.

When Froggy Doo is kidnapped and Elliott learns that there’s a $700 reward, he teams up with new-in-town Haley (Morgan Flynn) to figure out whodunit.  There’s a sub-plot that involves Mick, who drinks heavily and dotes on Rocky while ignoring Elliott’s attempts to get his attention.  In the end, the case is solved and the family is stronger than ever.

A Plumm Summer is a wonderful family film.  Herb, Froggy Doo’s puppeteer, is played by Henry Winkler, his wife is played by Brenda Strong, and the film is narrated by Jeff Daniels.  The movie is rated PG, probably because of the scenes that show drinking, but I heard no bad language and there was no violence. It was refreshing to watch a movie with no animation or special effects for a change.  Pick it up on Amazon.com.