What a great rare home recording. I think this is one of those shows where they erased and reused the videotapes to save money so there's nothing left in the vault.
This show had 1970's written all over it but it was a good, fun show and should've run longer than it did. I hope there's more episodes floating around out there that someone will be posting soon!
The executive producers of "The Magnificent Marble Machine" were Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley, who are well-known for game shows with "high-concept" sets (i.e. "Video Village", "Shenanigans", "Hollywood Squares", "High Rollers", and of course, this show).
I remember watching this show back in the day. Pinball was very popular back then (everyone played it in the arcades), and was fitting to see this on a game show. They had their share of issues with it given the complexity and technology at the time. Balls broke, got stuck, flippers failed, etc. Good times.
My favorite game show ever! I used to rush home after school to watch this (No VCRs back in 1975...). I was soooo into pinball at that time; who knew later in life I'd own 3 machines? lol
I was about 4 or 5 when this was on but I have a good memory of them actually doing that eventually. And I distinctly remember one time the ball was rolling right at the hole in the upper middle and while everyone was n the edge of their seats... the damn thing split in two! Fell apart; right in half. The host climbed onto the board and held them up like "What the hell?" They then did an abrupt jump-cut to a later moment when they started it over again.
disneyfan81 said that this show would be better for kids than adults, and I agree. Or better yet, they could do something like this on game shows that have the kids and their parents work together.
I wonder how this would work today? Zen Studios or Williams would probably have to make specially modified versions of their classic machines, since I'm not sure if there are still machines that just have bells rather than music and dialogue. If anything, I would probably have the contestants choose from five machines to play on in the bonus round from any of their selections.
This was rather exciting. The guy knew to wait with that first upper flip until the ball was in a better position to bounce back across the top (where he got the boat).
I think this bonus game could have been more exciting if the camera people could have done some close-ups of the ball as it was traveling and hitting the bumpers. The static view of the entire board is somewhat dull, and makes it a little hard to tell exactly what's happening.
Yeah, like I said on part 1's and part 3's comment pages, this would be a better kids' game show than an adult one. And as a result, it would be perfect onThe Hub,
Wow I am glad to know that I'm not the only one who remembers the ball cracking in two! IIRC, they stopped tape & Art James said something like, "It broke in two, and a little bird flew out." BTW, does anyone know whatever happened to this giant pinball machine after cancellation?
it may have been possible back then becuase they had some closeup shots during the intro. maybe they were afraid they might get in the way of the contestant.
What young boy wasn't into pinball in the 1970's? I used to like Yukon. Maybe U know this pinball: there no balls counted (I know), playtime was set by a clock instead of five balls. It had a hippie 1960's motiff.
notgrillo collector/ gamer I’m like another tommy at pinball, yes, I’m blind, but if this show still ran, I would’ve pretty much had some serious bucks had the money ball still got added.
I have a vague memory of reading in some magazine that after this show was cancelled the marble machine was hauled out to the parking lot of the studio where it taped so all the people who worked there could play with it. I'm guessing that lasting until the rainy season. :-)
From what I've read, as the show went on, the number of scoring errors increased, so they changed it from having the Money Ball after every successful GOAL to having a "Money Ball Marathon", with the highest scorer after ten shows getting a shot with the Money Ball. After five such marathons, the "Money Ball" was dropped altogether.
This flick is almost 35 years old and I was still cheering on the guy. I love that show. I'd love to get the music they play on this show.
What a great rare home recording. I think this is one of those shows where they erased and reused the videotapes to save money so there's nothing left in the vault.
This show had 1970's written all over it but it was a good, fun show and should've run longer than it did. I hope there's more episodes floating around out there that someone will be posting soon!
Johnny Gilbert of Jeopardy fame
The executive producers of "The Magnificent Marble Machine" were Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley, who are well-known for game shows with "high-concept" sets (i.e. "Video Village", "Shenanigans", "Hollywood Squares", "High Rollers", and of course, this show).
I remember watching this show back in the day. Pinball was very popular back then (everyone played it in the arcades), and was fitting to see this on a game show. They had their share of issues with it given the complexity and technology at the time. Balls broke, got stuck, flippers failed, etc. Good times.
I was born in 1988....but I can't stop watching this!
I absolutely loved this game show, I wish it lasted a whole lot longer.
I always remember the big pinball machine
My favorite game show ever! I used to rush home after school to watch this (No VCRs back in 1975...). I was soooo into pinball at that time; who knew later in life I'd own 3 machines? lol
I used to run home from swimming during the summer to catch this. It came on at 11 am every morning.
And it still plays better than an Atari Hercules.
I was about 4 or 5 when this was on but I have a good memory of them actually doing that eventually. And I distinctly remember one time the ball was rolling right at the hole in the upper middle and while everyone was n the edge of their seats... the damn thing split in two! Fell apart; right in half. The host climbed onto the board and held them up like "What the hell?" They then did an abrupt jump-cut to a later moment when they started it over again.
disneyfan81 said that this show would be better for kids than adults, and I agree. Or better yet, they could do something like this on game shows that have the kids and their parents work together.
I wonder how this would work today? Zen Studios or Williams would probably have to make specially modified versions of their classic machines, since I'm not sure if there are still machines that just have bells rather than music and dialogue. If anything, I would probably have the contestants choose from five machines to play on in the bonus round from any of their selections.
Imagine an operator having to deal with this machine on his route.
This was rather exciting.
The guy knew to wait with that first upper flip until the ball was in a better position to bounce back across the top (where he got the boat).
$500 in travelers checks 😂
Cold cash?
I think this bonus game could have been more exciting if the camera people could have done some close-ups of the ball as it was traveling and hitting the bumpers. The static view of the entire board is somewhat dull, and makes it a little hard to tell exactly what's happening.
hey a clock radio just what I need
Perfection indeed.
I what to play that big ass pinball machine. 😀👍
was the pinball about 100lbs. that's the slowest pinball machine ever. i used to watch this all the time when i was a kid.
It's waaaay bigger than Hercules. Trust me :)
Yeah, like I said on part 1's and part 3's comment pages, this would be a better kids' game show than an adult one. And as a result, it would be perfect onThe Hub,
Contestant walked in.
Wow I am glad to know that I'm not the only one who remembers the ball cracking in two! IIRC, they stopped tape & Art James said something like, "It broke in two, and a little bird flew out." BTW, does anyone know whatever happened to this giant pinball machine after cancellation?
Oops... forgot to mention my main point, which was that the camera was close up on the ball when it fell apart. I never forgot that.
didn't they have a version where all you had to do was win all the prizes to go to the gold ball round
it may have been possible back then becuase they had some closeup shots during the intro. maybe they were afraid they might get in the way of the contestant.
Gotta love the money ball round. It's a shame it got the E.O. in advance.
I don't think that could have been done. If we had the overhead cameras today, that could have been done.
What young boy wasn't into pinball in the 1970's? I used to like Yukon. Maybe U know this pinball: there no balls counted (I know), playtime was set by a clock instead of five balls. It had a hippie 1960's motiff.
notgrillo collector/ gamer I’m like another tommy at pinball, yes, I’m blind, but if this show still ran, I would’ve pretty much had some serious bucks had the money ball still got added.
@@blind_t2 I wish I could play Pinball too. The closest I get to that is either apps on my iPhone or Pinball for the Intellivision.
I have a vague memory of reading in some magazine that after this show was cancelled the marble machine was hauled out to the parking lot of the studio where it taped so all the people who worked there could play with it. I'm guessing that lasting until the rainy season. :-)
The Prizes that were featured are now getting "OLD,RARE & OBSCURE".
I get it. Lol
this game makes hercules look like a joke
+michelle dunnigan The flippers work better on this one, too. Never cared for Hercules.
I think they increased the point/money value for the bumpers before the gold ball was dropped. I think this was the 4th episode
is art James married
One of the sound effects is the exact same one the "egg tester" in the first Willy Wonka movie made when it detected a "bad egg".
From what I've read, as the show went on, the number of scoring errors increased, so they changed it from having the Money Ball after every successful GOAL to having a "Money Ball Marathon", with the highest scorer after ten shows getting a shot with the Money Ball. After five such marathons, the "Money Ball" was dropped altogether.
A cult-classic game show.