1951 · Gottlieb
Cyclone
Pale blue sky with white spiral wind streaks, green rolling farmland along the bottom, red barn lower left, white mill/silo building with red roof at right and comet-like red-orange-yellow-green streak band across upper left.
- Year
- 1951
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Backglass lights
- Players
- 1
Made by
- Design
- Wayne Neyens
- Art
- Roy Parker
Vision analysis
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- blue
- yellow
- red
- green
Fingerprint: CYCLONE title diagonal yellow hefty lettering red drop-shadow, grinning anthropomorphic cloud-head holding POINTS placard upper-left releasing wind-streaks downward, tumbling yellow-red-green money-laden suitcase mid-air beside title, eight tilted score-value bar gradient 100-900 thousands orange-yellow-red-green upper-right, four pin-up farmyard women running bottom-half colorful attire, 1950s americana nostalgic flat-cartoon rendering
The most memorable element is a huge grinning cloud head with puffed white cheeks, bulbous red nose and heavy-lidded eyes, holding a red card marked POINTS and blasting white wind streaks downwards. Second is the enormous diagonal CYCLONE title in fat yellow letters with a thick red drop shadow, set against a sky full of white spiral wind lines. Third, a tumbling open box or suitcase made of yellow, red and green panels floats in mid-air beside the title, with money spilling out. Fourth, a fan of eight tilted coloured score-value bars (100,000 up to 900,000) fills the upper right, alongside a white cloud-shaped maker's cartouche. Fifth, four 1950s-style pin-up farm girls in bright yellow, green and polka-dot outfits run and lean across the bottom in front of a barn, a mill and a horse-drawn wagon.
Setting
- Pale blue sky with white spiral wind streaks
- Green rolling farmland along the bottom
- Red barn lower left
- White mill/silo building with red roof at right
- Comet-like red-orange-yellow-green streak band across upper left
Symbols
- Grinning cloud mascot holding a points card
- Eight tilted coloured score-value bars
- White spiral wind/cyclone lines
- Tumbling open yellow-red-green box or suitcase
- Two draught horses harnessed to a wagon
- Red barn and white mill buildings
- White oval cartouche with script maker credit
- Comet-like rainbow streak band
Lettering
- Cyclone in very large fat yellow sans-serif capitals with a heavy dark red 3d drop shadow and red keyline, set on a strong diagonal; 'million' in white flowing cursive on a green banner; score numerals in white slab characters on coloured rounded bars; 'points' in white capitals on a red card; small mixed-case script in a white cloud cartouche
Themes
- Tornado
- Farm
- Midwest
- Pin-up
- Windmill
- Horses
- Money
- Score values
- 1950s americana
Title on it
- Cyclone
Text on it
- A PRODUCT OF
- D. Gottlieb & Co
- CHICAGO, ILL.
- Million
- CYCLONE
- POINTS
- 100,000
- 200,000
- 300,000
- 400,000
- 500,000
- 600,000
- 700,000
- 800,000
- 900,000
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Creature | Anthropomorphic white-and-cream cloud with puffed billowing cheeks, wide red-rimmed eyes, bulbous red nose and open grinning mouth, upper left, holding a red card reading points |
| Woman | Young blonde with short wavy hair, red halter dress with white polka dots, running left-to-right at lower centre-left, laughing |
| Woman | Redheaded young woman centre, yellow short-sleeved top with red trim and dark green shorts, one arm raised across her brow shading her eyes, bare legs |
| Woman | Blonde young woman at right in a red-and-white polka-dot top and pink shorts, seated astride a white plank building wall with one arm lifted behind her head |
| Woman | Brunette/auburn-haired young woman bottom right in a yellow top, leaning forward over a red object with a laughing open-mouthed expression |
| Man | Small distant figure in pale blue overalls and a wide-brimmed hat standing in the lower centre field, near scattered dark farm implements |
Framed painted backglass in a warm mid-brown wooden cabinet frame, shot at a slight angle with glass reflections and a glare band across the upper left. The background is a pale blue sky with white swirling wind or cyclone streaks radiating from the centre. Across the upper left a broad comet-like streak band runs from crimson and maroon through orange and bright yellow into a green panel carrying the white cursive word 'Million'. Diagonally down the centre, huge chunky yellow block letters with heavy dark red shadowing and a red outline spell CYCLONE. Upper right, eight tilted rounded rectangles carry score values in white numerals on coloured bars: 100,000 on yellow, 200,000 on orange, 300,000 and 400,000 and 800,000 and 900,000 on reds, 500,000 on green, 600,000 on yellow, 700,000 on orange. Upper left a grinning white-and-cream cloud character with heavy red cheeks and wide eyes holds a red card reading POINTS in white. Mid-left a large open suitcase-like block in yellow, red and green tumbles through the air. Lower half: a blonde in a red polka-dot halter dress, a redhead in a yellow top and green shorts shading her eyes, a blonde in a polka-dot top perched on a white building at right, and a brunette in a yellow top leaning forward at bottom right. Farm buildings, a red barn, tiny figures, two horses and a wagon sit along the bottom edge. Flat cartoon airbrush art style.