Coin Slot Magazine - #011 - 1975 - August [International Arcade Museum]
It wasn't easy. The famous Mills Silent/Mystery bells and venders were
a mature product. Basically, they were all the same. The only differ
ences over the years were in design, and "plan" (i. e. the payout schedule).
You couldn!t get too gimmicky, or you'd scare the players away. They
wanted something new, but they didn't seem to want something different.
The problem, or perhaps opportunity, was one of design.
where Mills had it all over the competition.
And that's
Mills' advantage in design had a name. It was Everett B. Eckland. Eck
land had started in the Advertising Department at Mills as a keyliner and
layout artist. When the decision was reached to start a new trend in bell
machine design, Eckland got the assignment. His first success was the
"War Eagle", and bell machines were never the same after that. Then
came the "Roman Head", "Blue Front" and others. But by 1936 practi
cally every graphic trick had been applied to the basic Mills bell mech
anism. Flashy design had become old hat. What was needed was some-
thing really new, or something that at least appeared to be new.
As was then standard, Eckland got the job. The idea for the CHERRY
BELL was a simple one. All Mills did was hype the cherry payouts, give
the machine a new case and a new name, and they were back on the rails
with what the operators expected from the industry leader. And it worked
just that way. The basic Mystery payout of 3 was retained for Cherry/
Cherry; but the Cherry/Cherry/Lemon and Cherry/Cherry/Bell payouts
were moved up to 10, or the same as the Orange/Orange/Orange and
Orange/Orange/Bell-Fruit-Gum payouts. All the rest followed the basic
Mystery plan. It was a simple mechanical change, lengthening the area
on cherry finger to trip second and third horizontal fingers.
The result was electric, and the CHERRY BELL took off. A big part of
the reason was the design element that Eckland stuck on the front of the
machine. Taking the basic escalatorbell case, Eckland worked out a new
cabinet with a big chromed oxegun shield (diamont - shaped) sticking out
in front with a massive Cherry symbol filling the space. It looked good,
and instantly said CHERRY. The colors were flashy; the Cherry in red
and green on a dark blue front.
The Mills promotional literature told the story when it said, "When
that single cherry appears on the first reel--and just before the second
reel stops--the player knows that ten is possible, creating a great deal
more suspense and hope—giving the player more excitement, more thrills,
and more interest than he. ever received from a bell or vender. " The fact
the design had a lot to do with the success of the CHERRY was evident
when an alternate model with the unaltered Mystery 3-5 payout was offered
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A small run of "Future Pay" vender models were also
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produced. h CHERRY
serials were in the 405,000-450, 000 series with
did just as well. Ultimately the Cherry 3-10 payout was phased out, and
the 3-5 CHERRY went on to become one of Mills' ten best sellers by the
end of 1939, ranking tenth.
production until WWII. It even inspired an additional offshoot when it was
produced in a drill-proof model late in 1938 as the BROWN FRONT, with
the cabinet painted in a rich reddish-brown. The BROWN FRONT was
probably even more successful, becoming the third largest seller in the
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