- A TV Show where Andy, with a studio audience full of loud screaming kids, would show movies. At the opening of the show he had a puppet friend called "Froggy". To get the frog to appear Andy and the audience would have to scream "Plunk your Magic Twanger, Froggy". There would then be a big puff of smoke and the frog would appear.—Bob Keenan <hytest@quiknet.com>
- Since this was a kids show and not a film, this synopsis is an outline of the show's components with examples:
Kids sang the show's theme song: "I've got a gang, you've got a gang, everybody's gotta have a gang, but there's only one kind of gang for me............. good ol' ANDY'S GANG!!!!!"
Andy Devine (side kick of Wild Bill Hickok, played by Guy Madison on the Wild Bill Hickok show) sat in a big easy chair, reading from Andy's Stories, which were illustrated with film clips.
The show's characters were Froggy the Gremlin, Midnight the Cat, Squeaky the Mouse (actually a hamster) and Grandie the Talking Piano.
To make Froggy appear, Andy and the audience would have to say, "Plunk your Magic Twanger, Froggy" at the grandfather clock where Froggy lived (?!) and in a puff of smoke, Froggy would appear on top of the clock. An obvious rubber toy, he was made to rock from side to side as he greeted us with his deep gruff voice, "Hiya kids, hiya!!"
Midnight, a big black cat, would sometimes play an organ grinder. She'd also dance around and around in a hula skirt while Squeaky played a violin. While doing this, Midnight closed and opened her eyes, looked disgusted and meowed. Sometimes she'd say, "Nice" in a high pitched cat voice when asked what she thought about things. I could never tell when Midnight and Squeaky were animals or puppets.
Andy's show also ran clips from films like Sabaka (1954) with Gunga the Jungle Boy played by Nino Marcel. Set in India, Gunga Ram and his friend Rama (Vito Scotti) helped out their Maharajah. It was a perfect serial for kids.
In other segments, Froggy tormented the show's guests. He constantly interrupted comic Billy Gilbert to make him do what Froggy wanted. Once while talking about the fine points of fishing and what to do with the worms, Froggy inserted, "and then you eat them!" Gilbert hypnotically replied, "Yes, and then you eat them," cramming a fistful of worms into his mouth. As Froggy laughed, Gilbert instantly woke up, spit out the worms and, now furious, chased Froggy until he vanished in a puff of smoke.
The show ended with Andy saying, "Yes, kids, we're all pals, and pals stick together. And now, gang, don't forget to go to church or Sunday school."
Who needed LSD? The show should have had a mental health warning!
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