Beat the Clock – PVC accessory system – Wood texture manufacturer
1950-1961
Contestants were essential to perform tasks (called “problems”) within a certain time limit which was counted down on a large 60-second clock. If they succeeded, they were said to have “beaten the Clock”; otherwise, “the Clock beat them”. The show had several sponsors over its run, with the most longstanding being the electronics company, Sylvania.
On-air personalities
Substitute hosts on the original version included Bill Hart (1951), John Reed King (1952), stunt inventor Frank Wayne (1953),
vibram speed women, Bob Kennedy (1954), Win Elliott (1955), and Sonny Fox, who became Collyer’s lasting substitute from 1957 to 1960. Collyer was referred to in the introductions as “America’s number one clockwatcher”, and the fill-in hosts were each named “America’s number two clockwatcher”.
The show had several female on-air assistants. The original hostess was Roxanne (ne Delores Evelyn Rosedale), who only used her first name as her vocational name. Roxanne was replaced by Beverly Bentley in August 1955. Bentley’s departure in 1956 coincided with Hazel Bishop’s sponsorship and a period of having no chief acolyte (see production changes below). She reappeared as one of the models on the original version of The Price Is Right for its entire run.
The announcer for the show’s run on CBS was Bernard (“Bern”) Bennett until 1958. In October 1957, Beat the Clock ran a marathon inviting viewers to submit drawings of what Bennett, who was never shown on camera, might look like. Over 20,000 viewers partook, and medalist Edward Darnell of Columbus, Indiana, was flown in to appear on the show according with Bennett on December 2, 1957. When the show moved to ABC, Dirk Fredericks became the announcer. Substitute announcers included Lee Vines, Bob Shepard, Hal Simms, and Dick Noel.
Contestants
Contestants were chosen from the studio audience and were usually married couples, occasionally busy, dating, or another familial relationship. Collyer would ask them common questions (usually including where they were from and how long they’d been married) and usually asked if they had children, their ages and genders. Sometimes the couple would fetch,0 some or all of their children with them on the show. Collyer would usually take some time out to talk to the children and ask them questions like what they wanted to be when they grew up, or if the kids were not at the show to have their parents wag to them at home. The husbands on the show usually wore a commerce suit. Collyer would often ask the husband to take off his wrap for stunts to make it less heavy (there were a few hooks on the contestants’ podium for this purpose, or Collyer would just prop the overcoat).
Occasionally, if there was going to be a messy stunt, the husband would come out dressed in a plastic jumpsuit to keep his own clothes neat. Similarly, wives would sometimes play in their “street clothes”, but sometimes the women would appear in a jumpsuit issued to them by the show deserving to the fact that their own clothing might be too cumbersome or perhaps fragile. The women’s jumpsuits, diverse the men’s, which were fairly,0 plain, were patterned to look like a pair of overalls with a collared blouse below. The women would also often be published running shoes in place of,0 their own high heels.
Game format
Main Game
One couple competed against the Clock to win a prize in stunts that could require one or both members of the couple. The first stunt was called the “$100 Clock”. The stunt was described and the time limit was set on a giant onstage timer. The time limit was always a multiple of 5 seconds, usually at least 30 seconds. At one point Collyer said that a 55-second time limit was the maximum, but later on, stunts occasionally had 60-second limits. If the couple beat the $100 Clock, they moved on to the “$200 Clock” and the same rules applied. If they failed to beat the $100 Clock, they received a consolation prize worth less than $100. If they failed to beat the $200 Clock, they got a prize worth more than $100.
Jackpot Clock
If the couple strike,0 the $200 Clock, the wife would play the “Jackpot Clock” in which the words of a famous saying or quote was scrambled up on a magnetic board and that phrase had to be unscrambled in 20 seconds or less. If successful, then the couple won the Jackpot Prize. If not, they got a prize worth more than $200. Occasionally, when the wife of the couple did not speak English very well, the husband was allowed to perform the Jackpot Clock.
The Jackpot Clock and the Bonus Stunt would cater the templates for the orthodox quiz show bonus round, which would get,0 a television staple, starting in 1961 with the Lightning Round for the Goodson-Todman word game Password.
In the show’s earliest set design in available episodes, there was a round exhibit near the contestants mirroring the Clock. This exhibit had three rings of light like a target. The outer ring would light during the $100 Clock, the middle ring for the $200 Clock, and the centre surround would light during the Jackpot Clock. This feature was removed in later set designs.
Bonus Stunt
Some time during every episode (among normal stunts), a alarm would sound. The couple playing at the time would attempt the Bonus Stunt for the Bonus Prize that started at $100 in cash. If the stunt was not beaten, it would be attempted the next week with $100 added to the prize. When it was beaten, it was elderly from the show and a new Bonus Stunt began the next week at $100. The bonus (as the name suggests) did not effect,0 the normal game, and win or lose the couple continued the regular Clocks wherever they left off. Beginning in August 1954, the starting amount for each Bonus Stunt was raised to $500, still increasing $100 each week.
Bonus Stunts were harder than the usual $100 and $200 Clocks and sometimes reached $2,000 and even $3,000 on infrequent occasions. The first time the Bonus reached $1,000 was on February 28, 1953, when it was won for that amount. In 1956, the Bonus Stunt was replaced by the Super Bonus.
There was usually a particular,0 technique for performing the stunt that had to be figured out, but even then, the stunt was withly difficult enough to require some skill or fortune once the technique was accomplished. Viewers would normally try to figure it out and after a few weeks on the air viewers would often acquire,0 it (sometimes Collyer would remark that viewers had been prose in and he would give certain measurements of the props used so viewers could try to figure it out at home).
Usually either contestants themselves would start appearing on the show with the technique in idea, or audience members would shout it out to try to assist them. A stunt would usually take a few weeks before the audience realized the technique, and then a few more weeks before somebody was able to properly employ it.
Super Bonus Stunt
In response to the big money prizes which began to appear on other networks’ game shows, CBS talked Mark Goodson into increasing the stakes on Beat The Clock. Ultimately the arrange was unsuccessful as the ratings never did improve much, perhaps leading to the end of the Super Bonus. Starting on February 25, 1956, after the last regular Bonus Stunt had been won, it was replaced by the “Super Bonus” which started at $10,000 and went up by $1,000 every time a couple failed to beat the Clock. Unlike with the regular Bonus Stunt and the “Big Cash Bonus Stunt” that followed it, the Super Bonus was attempted by every couple who qualified by beating the $200 Clock. Originally the stunt was played at the end of the show by each couple that qualified, and “because of the high prize value” a special timing machine made by the Longines company was used, which was touted as the most exact portable clock available. Probably realizing that seeing the same stunt a few times in a row was a bit boring, they moved the Super Bonus right after the $200 Clock and before the Jackpot Clock on March 17, dripping the Longines timer.
The Super Bonus was won only double in its existence. The first Super Bonus Stunt involved the husband picking up 4 small periodical cups from a table one at the peak of and stacking them atop a large helium-filled balloon using only an hand. The first seven contestants had distress even getting the second cup stacked, but the eighth contestant to try the stunt on March 25, 1956 (the show’s sixth “birthday” show) kept the balloon very close to the ground and at points held it on the ground (though Collyer advised him several times not to do so) and bounced the balloon as he grabbed the next cup. He was capable to stack the 4 cups fast and won $18,000, and afterward also won the Jackpot Prize (a TV). The contestants who eligible later in that procedure were brought back the emulating week to try the new Super Bonus.
The second Super Bonus Stunt again involved the husband who wore a football helmet with wooden salad bowl spliced face down on the forehead. The husband had to balance a wooden cylinder (almost the size of a paper towel roll) on its end on the bowl. The cylinder was tied at its midpoint to a fishing line on a shortened fishing pole. It was charted by Frank Wayne who demonstrated the completing of the stunt before the laboratory crowd prior to at fewest some of the tapings. This stunt testified very difficult, and most contestants who attempted it showed no indication of a technique for getting the wand to the bowl. Only one person even had the pole sitting flat for a terse instant until September 6, where both the first contestant (a holdover who had practiced at home) and the second contestant (for $62,000 and $63,000 respectively) administered to have the dowel sitting on the bowl for a few moments, but lost its balance when the string was slacked.
On September 15, 1956, Collyer announced that the next show would gain a new sponsor, and if the Super Bonus was not won Fresh and Sylvania would donate the Super Bonus Pot to charity. However, the first contestant, Gabriel J. Fontana, a holdover from the previous show of beside,0 misses who had practiced at home, won the Jackpot of $64,000 (almost $500,000 in 2009 dollars). He and his wife then won the Jackpot Prize, a washer and dryer. Each of the final three contestants employed a technique of raising the dowel very slowly so it did not swing around. Unlike the original bonus, however, the audience never seemed to care for to a particular technique for the two Super Bonus Stunts, and counsel was not usually hurrahed out.
Partway via the run of the second Super Bonus, a rolling desk/table with dollar merit of the bonus printed on it was used to roll out the props for the stunt. This carried over to the Big Cash Bonus Stunt. It is noteworthy that in the earliest surviving episodes from 1952 that air, the original bonus had a similar table with the merit of the bonus on it. The desk was done away with for several years until the view,0 was reused in 1956.
Big Cash Bonus Stunt
Starting on September 22, 1956 (the same day the show’s new sponsor became Hazel Bishop) the bonus reverted back to the original Bonus Stunt format (attempted once per episode by whatever couple heard the “Bonus Bell” ringing). The Jackpot started at $5,000 and increased $1,000 every week it was not won. If successful, the couple left the show with the “top prize”; otherwise, they continued on with the regular game.
Bonus Cash and Prize Stunt
Featured on the daytime edition. A lucky couple had a become to obtain a bundle of cash and their choice of a new motorcar alternatively a boat. To conquer, they had to successfully complete their Bonus Stunt.
Like the original Bonus Stunt,
mbt women's kisumu 2 sandal, the cash value started at $100, going up each time the stunt was not successfully completed. The largest cash bonus won on the daytime edition was $20,100 during its years on ABC.
Stunts
The stunts performed on the show were mostly created by staff stunt writers Frank Wayne and Bob Howard. In the early days of the show, dramatist Neil Simon was also a stunt author. The stunts were usually aimed towards fun with difficulty being secondary. The stunts would usually be constructed out of common household props for example,0 cardboard boxes, string, balloons, record players, dishes, cups, plates, cutlery, and balls of almost every type. As was the case with many other game shows during television’s infancy, the budget was cheap.
The stunts performed varied warmhearted, but there were some common themes. Most stunts in some way contained physical speed or dexterity. Contestants constantly had to poise someone with some part of their body, or marathon back and along on the stage (for example, releasing a balloon, scampering along the stage to do some task, and running back in time to catch the balloon before it drifted too high). Often the challenge was some form of target practice, in terms of darting, coiling, bowling, etc.
The install for the stunt was often designed to look easy but then have a complication or gimmick revealed. For example, Collyer would say “All you have to do is stack four plates”, retard the Clock to see how many time they had to do it, and then add “Oh, and one more thing…you can’t use your hands”. Common tangles included blindfolding one or both contestants, or telling them they couldn’t use their hands (or feet or any body part that would be obvious to use for whatever the task was).
The other common ingredient in the stunts was to get one of the contestants messy in some way often involving whipped cream, pancake maul, and such (usually limited to the husband of the couple). While it was not a part of every stunt, and sometimes it didn’t even {happen|take area,happen,0} in an episode, it was common enough that when a couple brought a child on, Collyer would often ask what they idea,0 the parents might must do and the child would often respond “get whipped cream in their face”. Many times the wife would be shown a task, be blindfolded, and then her husband would be silently brought out and unknown to her she would be covering him with some arrange of shambles. When the muddle was not hidden from the wife, Collyer would often jokingly tell the husband (who usually had a short haircut) that they would put a bathing hat on his head “to keep your long hair out of your eyes” before revealing what form of mess he would be involved with. Occasionally Collyer himself would get caught in the mess deliberately. These types of stunts might be considered a prototype for the varieties of stunts performed on future game shows for example,0 Double Dare (although rival shows Truth or Consequences and Dollar A Second were also known for these messy varieties of stunts, as well). The props employed usually included family items for example,0 cardboard boxes, dishware, dolls, and food items.
Technicality in the rules was not a major issue on the show. The goal was withly to make sure the contestants had fun. Collyer would often stop the Clock in the middle of a stunt if the contestant(s) was struggling so he could warn them on a better way to do the stunt. Often if a condition of the stunt was “don’t use your hands,” Collyer would bypass the first use of hands and just warn the contestant. If the time limit was nearly up on a task, he would often give them a few moments extra, or tell them if they started before the Clock ran out and succeeded in that attempt, he would count it. Sometimes if a contestant had come close enough (case in point, if they had to stack cups and saucers without the pile falling over, and the contestant knocked the pile over while putting the last cup on top, he would give them the stunt if they did not have time to do it again. If there was a problem with a hold crashing or running out of a supply, such as balloons, Collyer would simply give the stunt to the couple, citing it as the show’s fault. Similarly, on the messy stunts, since the goal was just to mess up the husband, the time limit was often unimportant and the Clock would be stopped when Bud felt the husband was messy enough.
Sometimes shows were themed, for example,0 the all episode containing circus-related stunts; an international show, with each stunt having some relation to some other nation,0; a show in which certain props were accustom in each stunt; a birthday show on the show’s annual; April Fools shows where there was a dupe in every stunt; and one incident at the end of each year replaying preference stunts of that year.
In order to determine if the stunts could really be performed, and to set suitable time limits for them, the producers employed out-of-work cast to try them out. One of those who did this work was James Dean, who was said to be able to perform any task the producers gave him to try. He was so skillful that he had to be let go, as he was too quickly to set the time limits by.[citation needed] Collyer also noted on the air a number of times that he himself tested many of the stunts while they were being developed, often noting that the contestant performed the stunt with far more ease than he had. Another up-and-coming actor who would gain stature later in his profession, Warren Oates, was also said to have worked on the show as a stunt tester.
Prizes
Prizes varied depending on the era of the show and the sponsor at the time. During Sylvania’s tenure as sponsor (which began in March 1951), consolation prizes for losing the $100 Clock were usually a Sylvania radio which was brought out.
$100 Clock prizes included Michael C. Fina silverware sets, a collection of four Knapp-Monarch small kitchen appliances, or a Hoover upright, among others.
$200 Clock prizes included International-Harvester refrigerators, air conditioning elements (usually in the summer), a Tappan range/oven, a James dishwasher, Speed Queen washers and dryers (fknow next to nothing ofme reason, they were only offered separately) and small Sylvania TVs. All of these prizes, except the Sylvania radio, were shown on “art cards” and not actually brought out on the show.
The Jackpot Prize during Sylvania’s tenure was always a Sylvania television set. Sometimes a hi-fi stereo/phonograph (with “famous circle sound”) was included with the television, and it was noted that the Jackpot Prize was “worth more than $500″. A notable (and often pointed out) function of Sylvania’s TVs at the time was the “halo light”, which was an illustrated “frame” around the image which was assumed to have made seeing the picture easier on the eyes, similar to Philips’ “AmbiLight” feature on television sets today.
The sets, as was the style at the time, were freestanding pieces of furniture that sat on thighs on the floor with a spokesman mounted below the shade. Various models were given away over the yearsometimes the same model several times in one episode, sometimes a assorted prototype each time the Jackpot was won in an episode. Roxanne (later Beverly) would posture with the TV which was revealed from after a curtain in a small faux living room. The premier win of a TV in the episodes whose records still air was a Jefferson 20″ cupboard. Shortly after, on September 6, 1952, the new 1953 21″ Montclair cabinet (model 177M) was disclosed. In December 1952 the 1953 21″ Huntington and the 21″ Kensington turn cabinet debuted on the show, although the Montclair remained the most common prize. On April 4, 1953 a assorted 21″ Kensington cabinet with “French provincial stylings” debuted.
Some of the other models over the years included the 24″ Penhurst console, the 21″ Windermere console (with French provincial stylings), and later the “Cabinet of Light” (as the line was called) models, the 21″ Belvedere, and the 24″ Kimberly (circa 1956).
There were also various gifts given to the contestants just for appearing on the show. There was a Sylvania Beat the Clock home game produced which was given to contestants starting in the mid-50s. When it was novel, Collyer would open the box and explain that it would be fun for not just children but adults at parties, and he would point out the working Clock and the instructions for stunts and all the props. Later in the run it would be brought out, shown and whisked away consist in ... quickly. The boxes were reworked a few times, and there was a new edition released later in the run. Both versions were manufactured by Lowell Toy Mfg. Co. of New York, who produced a number of television-based home games at the time.
When children were brought on the show, there were special gifts. Starting on September 6, 1952, Girls brought on the show were given a Roxanne doll that was produced at the time. On October 11, 1952, the Buck Rogers Space Ranger Kit was debuted for the male children. In the mid-50s, each child was given a camera kit (the brand of the camera varied often but it always included a afford of Sylvania “Blue Dot for sure shot” flashbulbs).
If contestants were involved in a messy stunt, Roxanne (later Beverly) would bring an end to ... and take a picture of the husband/couple. Initially it wasn’t made remove how the couple would turn,0 the photo (maybe mailed to them), but later in the run, the camera would be given to the couple in addition to any their children might yet have been given. Collyer would explain that when they developed the film, the first photo would be that of the husband/couple.
From 1956 and for the recess of the show’s run on CBS, the Jackpot Prizes usually consisted of a Magnavox Color TV, Fedders air conditioners (usually awarded as a pair), Westinghouse washer & dryer pairs, and refrigerators, Hardwick ranges and Easy “Combomatic” combination washer-dryers.
Production history
1950: The Beginning
Beat the Clock began airing Thursday nights on CBS on March 23, 1950, running with no commercials. Even the show’s introduction was austere; no theme song, just a shot of the Clock ticking off the seconds as announcer Bern Bennett would mention “It’s time for America’s favorite gathering game, “BEAT THE CLOCK…” and then introduce Bud Collyer.
Initially the show ran for 45 minutes, then inflated to an hour (it is illegible if this was still on Thursday) before moving to Saturdays. The show did not have a sponsor until the Saturday night shows, and this is believed to have happened in September 1950 (Collyer mentions on October 4, 1952 that they’ve just commemorated two years of sponsorship).
Those prior episodes are deemed to not be in the available library of episodes (hence some of the cause,0 for the unclarity). The show was telecast from the Maxine Elliott Theater (Studio 51).
1950-1956: The Sylvania Era
The most recognizable era of the show was from 1950 (or 1951), when it shook to a more standard half hour on Saturday nights at 7:30 PM Eastern. This is when the show was sponsored by the Sylvania enterprise. Notable on the show were their flashbulbs, radios and television sets. The show was CBS’ lead-in to Saturday night programming. One program on their schedule in 1952 was Jackie Gleason’s kind show on which he once performed a Honeymooners sketch on the Beat the Clock set with himself and Art Carney as contestants (this limn, captioned “Teamwork: Beat the Clock”, was thought one of the “lost” Honeymooners episodes but has as,0 been accessible on home video).
The first year or 2 of this phase are also assumed unavailable. There were very few making changes during this phase the show. The first theme song from this period was Lights of Broadway. This later changed to the more versed Hickory Dickory Dock (lyrics quoted on). The theme from the original unsponsored show is unknown.
1955-1956 Changes
In late 1955 and early 1956, there were a few production changes which were presently followed by gameplay changes. The first notable change was the departure of assistant Roxanne in August 1956.
Sylvania began a contest in 1955 where viewers could get a mail-in portal form from a local Sylvania seller. The entries were placed in a big rotating drum onstage, and one of the contestant couples/families would draw the top three winners for the week, with additional winners being drawn after the show. Shortly before the contest began, the Jackpot Board, which had been behind the contestants’ podium, was moved to the first curtain to the left of the podium from the viewer’s outlook, and the drum was placed behind the curtain which had previously contained the Jackpot Board.
The show’s opening also changed during this time, adding an opening teaser. Collyer would stand with the first couple on the show and explain the stunt they would have to perform. However, he would in the absnece of that pivotal detail that would make it difficult. The detail was not usually something easy to guess like blindfolding or whipped cream, but was followsly something that would startle everyone for example,0 changing a factor of the stunt to make it more difficult (for instance, Collyer would demonstrate throwing a baseball into a barrel but then replace the baseballs with basketballs that would barely eligible into the barrel, or moving the contestant much further away from the barrel, etc.).
There were a few side effects of this change. The Clock’s buzzer would sound, effective Collyer time had run out. Originally this buzzer often came while Collyer was explaining a stunt or during the performance of a stunt. The same stunt would start again the next week (in a form of suspense, perhaps, to bring the audience back). Collyer would often suggest that they practice the stunt at home (sometimes jokingly, if the stunt involved props that would be very unthreaten to be base in the home). Collyer would then ask the contestants if they could come back, which they usually could.
After the opening teaser was added, contestants who had only the Jackpot Clock left and said they could come back were suddenly absent the afterward week, with Collyer explaining that later the show it seemed inconvenient to come back for fair the Jackpot Clock, and that the couple had played the Jackpot Clock after the show went off the atmosphere. This generally avoided the next week starting with a Jackpot Clock (which would no work with the teaser).
After the change Collyer would often rush contestants to perform the Jackpot quickly if they had just scarcely enough time in order to not have the Jackpot Clock at the beginning of the next episode. Additionally, when a contestant ended the show in the middle of a stunt or after the stunt was explained, it was not repeated the next week. The teaser started with a mark new stunt. Collyer began differentiating contestants “You’ll start next week with this stunt or another, we’re not certain,0 which yet” (which he said every time it happened for months), but seldom was the same stunt held over after the change (until late in the Fresh sponsorship when they started sometimes holding stunts over to the next week again).
Around the time the Super Bonus Stunt moved from the end of the show to after the $200 Clock, the opening teaser was changed from the preview of a stunt to a preview of the Super Bonus Stunt, telling the audience what the prize was up to that week. The effects of the teaser change (the Jackpot never starting a show, couples who were in the middle of a stunt getting a new one the next week) continued, however.
These changes seemed aimed at streamlining the show and making each show run faster and less informally. After the changes, children began not being brought out with the couple (kids gradually started reappearing after several months in the medium of 1956 with less frequency than they originally had been), even when the couple said the children were backstage or in the audience. The stunts started getting a little harder and Collyer was a bit less advantageous. Stunts tended to be more often aimed towards skill and difficulty than the slapstick and mortification that had been at the forefront in the past. Before this, it was commonplace for every couple to win the Jackpot in an episode.
1956: Fresh Deodorants
In late Spring 1956, just weeks after Collyer’s announcement of a new Sylvania contest (see the 1955 contest above), Beat the Clock got a new sponsor Fresh Deodorants. Along with this came a number of production changes. First, the show’s Hickory Dickory Dock theme song was replaced by a jazzy electrical,0 guitar piece (with no lyrics) to the tune of the song Bicycle Built For Two, over footage of a field of daisies (daisies distinctly being a theme of the new sponsor, “Fresh as a daisy”). After a few episodes, a melodic was added that was an change of the lyric of the original song (possibly a slogan of the company at the time). The walls (previously in a type of bubble/marble pattern) and podium were changed to have daisies decorating them, and the famous Clock was redressed into a Fresh motif. The contestants even wore small daisy lapel needles. More jazzy guitar music was added to the opening teaser of the Super Bonus, and while the contestants attempted the bonus (in a sort of Flight of the Bumblebee pace of dread). Collyer also took every chance to toss “Fresh” or “daisy” into his talk during the show.
There were two other changes of memorandum to the tangible implementation of the show. First, the Jackpot Clock (the magnetic word puzzle) moved back to its original location behind the contestants’ podium. Second were the prizes. The gift given to contestants still included the home game (now “courtesy of Fresh” with Fresh graphics on the box, though seemingly still including a photo of Roxanne) but the camera kits with Sylvania flashbulbs were replaced by a present,0 box of Fresh products (and of way, photos of messy stunts were no longer taken). The Jackpot Prize was no longer a TV set, but assorted rotating prizes.
On the first episode of Fresh’s sponsorship, Jackpot Prizes included a Westinghouse Deluxe Laundromat washer and matching dryer, and a pair of York snorkel air conditioners. Betty or Eileen posed with the prizes instead of Beverly. The last Sylvania prize ever awarded on the show was a Windermere console with a hi-fi.
1956: Hazel Bishop
On September 22, 1956 the Hazel Bishop cosmetics company became the show’s new sponsor and were the final sponsor of the show on CBS. This coincided with the above-mentioned new Big Cash Bonus which was likely a feedback to the failure of the Super Bonus to amend ratings. In perhaps another response, the show also moved to a new time, 7:007:30 PM Eastern time. This made it the first program ever to open a Saturday night lineup at 7:00. However, some affiliates had other programming commitments and the show lost about 20 stations.
A fashionable theme anthem was introduced shrieked Subway Polka, and the prologue teaser introduced months earlier was eliminated. The set was redressed very similar apt the path it had originally appeared, and even the Clock itself went behind apt its native arrival (except,0 the Hazel Bishop name in place of,0 Sylvania’s aboard the face). Another change namely agreed with the new sponsor and timeslot was namely Beverly Bentley was not longer with the show. She had been reassigned to seem with June Ferguson like,0 the models on The Price Is Right. Contestants were introduced along the announcer, and prizes and gifts were presented by the other assistants. The gifts included a giftbox of Hazel Bishop cosmetics and a additionally repeatedly rebranded home game.
In January 1957, the home game was replaced with a new home version of the magnetic Jackpot Board. The prizes remained, for the most part, the same or similar prizes as beneath Fresh’s sponsorship. A few weeks into the new Big Cash Bonus, the lighting was dulled (or at least some camera effect was used) to darken the studio and highlight the contestants and the lights on the Clock.
1957: New Timeslot
The ratings continued to decline and on February 8, 1957 the show moved to Fridays at 7:30 PM Eastern. Corresponding with this change was a redesign of the show’s set (it is suggested that this might be the point where the show moved to the Ritz Theater in New York City, but other sources date that as 1958 and promising refer to the point where the show moved to ABC).
Unlike previous set changes, this was not simply a redress of the walls and surfaces. The contestants were now introduced by opening a curtain to the area behind the newly redesigned podium. The Jackpot Board was moved to the wall to the left (viewers’ left) of the podium/curtain. The curtained wall (with the show’s title above it) between the Clock and the podium was removed to reveal a wall further back. There was a small semi-circular curtained area to the (viewers’) left of the Jackpot Board which turned more into sight,0 when needed and contained the Jackpot Prizes.
A few weeks later, the show’s title was put on the back wall again, and a curtain (that was sometimes left open) was re-added to the center stage area.
Artistically, the set had a diamond idea. The contestants were once again given the home game instead of the magnetic board. Other gifts were also given to children, such as a radio kit for juvenile boys or a doll for girls. A few weeks into the new night,
mbt shoe sale, recorded playful melody underscored the contestants as they attempted their stunts (reminiscent of how music played during the Super Bonus in the Fresh era of the show. One of the melodious pieces was Rimsky-Korsikov’s “Sabre Dance”).
On June 21, 1957 the show aired unsponsored. Hazel Bishop began sponsoring only every other week. The show did not change much except,0 the obvious stoppage of anybody say of Hazel Bishop. The Clock was rebranded with the title of the show and the podium was bare. The contestants still received the home game (a new version that had been introduced several months earlier), but obviously not the Hazel Bishop gifts. Other recent gifts that were still given included a crystal radio kit for boys brought on the show, and a “Beat The Clock, Rags to Riches” doll (whose clothes changed her into a princess) for girls.
1957-1961: Daytime
On September 16, 1957 CBS began ventilation the show at 2:00 PM everyday,0 in addition to the Friday night show, which made Beat the Clock only the second nighttime game show to add a daytime version. The nighttime show continued to lose viewers, and presently then moved to Sunday nights at 6:00 PM, without a sponsor. In February 1958, the nighttime show finished after eight years.
There was one change in the format on the daytime version. Contestants continued to play at the peak of they kept beating the Clock. After two wins, they would receive a prize package, sometimes consisting of an entire room of furniture, major appliances, a preschool for expectant or newlywed mamas, or children’s items for example,0 clothes, toys and games, or bicycles. This change increased opportunities for the contestants to try to win the Bonus Stunt more than once. The Bonus Stunt would revert to the nighttime version’s original initial payoff of $100, increasing by that amount each time it was not won. Daytime contestants also had the chance to win a car, or on later episodes, their choice of a car or boat.
Another new ruffle was “Ladies’ Day”. Usually once a week, only women would appear as contestants. Sometimes, when entire families appeared on the show, there would be a stunt that would at least agree, if only totally contain,0, the babies of the family.
The daytime show did not encounter CBS’ expectations, and was replaced by The Jimmy Dean Show in September 1958. It was picked up by ABC, which was in the process of developing a daytime lineup; CBS permitted the move with the concert that ABC would not also do a nighttime version. Following a month-long hiatus, ABC began airing the show on October 13, 1958, at 3:00 PM. It ran until January 27, 1961, with a timeslot change to 12:30 PM.
Episode status
Like numerous shows of its day, the show was recorded using kinescope. There are even some mentions of this on the show, for example,0 an episode when a contestant challenged a detriment on the second Super Bonus Stunt, and the kinescope was used to confirm the outcome.
Like most kinescope recordings that have been put into present use, the membranes have been transferred to video tape (and in some cases, the videos into digital form). Some kinescopes or video tapes are lost or in too needy quality to announce so there are sometimes gaps in the available catalog of episodes. There is one “public domain” episode not part of GSN’s catalog that dates to October 1951, maybe making it the oldest surviving episode in existence.
It is not publicly known whether the daytime episodes (both CBS and ABC) are lost or damaged, but they are rarely seen. However, circulating amongst collectors is a daytime episode from September 23, 1960 with a Bonus Stunt win of $20,100 plus the choice of a car or a boat, which set a record for daytime TV winnings in the post-scandal era; also notable is that the Bonus Stunt had not been won for 51 weeks, and the couple who won it, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hunt of Tolleson, Arizona, did so on their third attempt.
GSN aired 1952-1958 episodes of the nighttime version, but has not aired it since 2006.
1969-1974
This version ran from September 15, 1969 to September 20, 1974 in five-day-a-week syndication. For the first season (1969-1970), the show was taped at The Little Theatre on Broadway in New York City.
Prior to the start of tapings for the second season, Clock relocated to Montreal, Canada as a cost-saving experiment, making it the only Goodson-Todman game to be produced in Canada (not counting French-Canadian versions of their shows). CTV aired the series for Canadian audiences during its four-year stay in Montreal.
The music for this version of Clock was played on the organ by the well-known keyboardist and arranger Dick Hyman.
Jack Narz (19691972)
In early episodes, couples, now aided by a newspaper celebrity guest, played for points simply by completing stunts. The first couple to reach 100 points won a prize pack. This was subsequently changed to the couples receiving a prize every time they won; Eventually, prizes were replaced by the winning couple facing a “cash board” with “BEAT THE CLOCK” spelled out on three levels, each letter concealing a money amount: either $25, $50, $100, or $200. The couple would engage on a letter, select it, and the winnings would be revealed.
At some point during the show, the celebrity would perform a “Solo Stunt” (which seemed to have displaced the Bonus Stunt on the original show). The couples could win $50 if they surmised correctly if the star could win,0 the Clock or vice versa. Towards the end of Narz’s tenure as host, stunts would be replaced in the second half of the show with the celebrity playing a game of intuition with the couples, who would play for a cash prize that was divided between,0 them.
During this time, the show was syndicated through 20th Century Fox Television. One unusual appearance of these shows was that Narz’s suit jackets had a “Beat The Clock” logo sewn onto their pockets.
During the first season in Canada with the cash board, a couple picked the “L” in “CLOCK” as their first choice. Because the undersides of the letter tiles were completely vacant it occasioned an inadvertent blooper, as the board then read “BEAT THE C_OCK” (an inadvertent profanity referring to male genitalia and Sadomasochism); afterward, the undersides of each tile contained a replica of the corresponding letter to discourage such an incident from happening again.
Gene Wood (1972-1974)
Jack Narz left the show in 1972. At the time, he made no bulletin and gave no reason for his departure. In a 2007 Internet radio interview, Narz finally explained that the show’s budget did not include his travel expenses, he had to individually pay for his voyage, and the price of airline fare between his Los Angeles home and Montreal became prohibitive. His peregrination costs were essentially equal to his earnings, and even a successful pray to Mark Goodson for more money was insufficient.
Announcer Gene Wood hosted the show for the next two seasons. Wood had also been hosting a similar stunt game titled Anything You Can Do, a combat of the ######es rivalry which was also recorded in Canada. CTV staffer Nick Holenreich became the show’s announcer; he had previously announced for a week during Narz’s final season in which Wood was the celebrity guest). At this time, the show also changed syndicators to Firestone Syndication Services, which syndicated variant Goodson-Todman show, To Tell the Truth, which had originally been hosted by Bud Collyer).
The show was now called The New Beat the Clock (although the logo still read simply “Beat the Clock”), and the set was activated with a new color scheme and a redesigned Clock. Both Narz and Wood wore suit jackets with a “Beat The Clock” logo sewn on the pockets.
The only changes in the format were that couples were introduced separately and played two stunts, win or lose (a win still getting a trip to the Cash Board), and both couples contended simultaneously in a last stunt, with the winning couple receiving a prize. Celebrity visitors were maintained in the new format, once again helping the contestants, and performing the Solo Stunt as well as “co-judge” with Wood in the final stunt of the day. Another throwback to the Collyer era (when the show was discerned in the daytime) was the revival of “Ladies’ Day”, where women only (not addition the celebrity for that week) would play the game.
In adding, if a couple completed a stunt in fewer than half the time, the remaining time would be used for awarding a cash dividend. Anywhere from $10 to $50 would be awarded for each time the stunt could be completed in the time remaining.
Despite continued popularity on regional stations in both daytime and prime time way timeslots, Goodson-Todman decided to quit production of Clock in 1974 when CTV asked the company for half of the earnings from advertisers awarding their wares as contestant consolation prizes. Wood returned to voice-over work, and went on to a 20-year career announcing Los Angeles-based shows for Goodson-Todman and occasionally other packagers. He did not host another show.
Episode status
Some, if only all, of this series is intact and has aired on GSN in the past. Two episodes from the Jack Narz era were aired in late 2005 to cost,0 tribute to Bob Denver and Louis Nye, both of whom had recently died. An episode featuring Tom Kennedy (Narz’s brother) aired on June 11, 2007.
In January 2007, a Gene Wood episode aired which featured William Shatner. Another episode aired on October 22, 2007 featuring Dick Clark. At least three episodes were also aired featuring Richard Dawson.
1979-1980
The All-New Beat The Clock aired as a daytime show from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980 on CBS. In this format, two couples competed against each other and the Clock. This was the only version of Beat the Clock to originate from Los Angeles (except for the Gameshow Marathon episode hosted by Ricki Lake).
Monty Hall hosted this version (his first show since Video Village that was not produced by his own company), with former host Jack Narz on board as announcer and companion producer. This version was taped in Studio 31 at CBS Television City. There were two theme songs used (both composed by Score Productions). The second one was performed alive,0 in the studio by a small orchestra led by Arthur B. Rubinstein.
Rounds 1 and 2
In rounds one and two, the couples competed against each other in a stunt worth $500 for the winner. One stunt usually featured the women of the couples, while the other featured the men, though the other partner sometimes had to help as well. The clock was run as a fail secure by which if neither couple completed the stunt within the time limit, the couple nearest would win. The winner of each round’s competitive stunt went on the play a solo stunt attach for an added $500.
Bonus Shuffle
After the first two rounds, both couples played the “Bonus Shuffle”, a round of shuffleboard on a special table which had stripes at the far end denoting $300$1,000 in $100 increments, increasing towards the end of the table. The couple which was guiding after two rounds shot first and had three pucks to shoot with, while the other couple had two. If the couples were tied going into this round, each couple had two pucks, and a coin dart determined which team shot first. The couples alternated shooting pucks, with each female shooting first, then the males, and in the end,0 any membership of the guiding couple ambitioned to shoot.
The table had no walls nigh it, and any pucks which were thrown or knocked off the side or end of the table, as well as any which did not approach the first money stripe, did not calculate and were removed. The team whose puck that was furthest along the board at the end of play, and which was touching a money stripe (there was just enough space between stripes for a puck not to touch either) won that amount and got to play the bonus stunt for ten times the amount. Both couples kept their winnings from the first two circulars, but these winnings were not used in determining the champions. The couple who won the bonus shuffle would return as winners for the next episode.
If the neither team had a puck touching a money amount at the end of the game, or if the pucks were equidistant from the end of the board, the teams would play a playoff. The team with the advantage from the earlier rounds chose whether to throw first or second. Each team threw one puck. The first blot of the first puck was apparent, and it was removed before the second team threw. The furthest puck touching a money amount was the winner like in the regular game.
Bonus Stunt
The winning couple played the Bonus Stunt for ten times their winning shuffleboard score, for a top medal of $10,000. A stunt would stay,0 as the Bonus Stunt until a couple completed it or it was played 5 times. Theoretically, the most money a group could win in a single day was $13,000. Teams stayed on until they won $25,000 or more, or were vanquished.
The All-New All-Star Beat The Clock
Midway into its short-lived run, the show switched to an all-celebrity format. Changes made included:
Celebrity couples played for appointed rooting sections of the audience which split the winnings.
Stunts in the first two rounds were only worthy,0 $250 for the rooting segments.
If the winning team completed the bonus stunt, $1,000 went to their rooting section as,0 the remaining money went to their favorite liberalness.
Both star teams remained on the show for a week.
Theoretically, the most money a celebrity team can win for their rooting section in a single day was $3,000 and a likely $9,000 to their charity.
The theme song was now an upbeat version of the first one used in its run, and was performed live in the studio.
Episode status
This series exists in its entirety. The Christmas episode with Ronnie Schell, Joyce Bulifant, Johnny Brown, and Patti Deutsch has been aired on GSN in the past during Christmas-themed marathons. The series aired on GSN between September 10, 2007 and September 2008 in a late Saturday and Sunday night slot but was dragged from the schedule after beginning the final week. On November 12, 2008 it returned to the GSN lineup weeknights at 2:00 AM, replacing Trivia Trap. It final aired January 3, 2009.
2002-2003
This version, the show’s most recent appearance other than the Game Show Marathon special, aired daily from September 2, 2002 to September 4, 2003 on PAX TV (the first week of shows was called a “preview week”). Taped at Universal Studios Florida, three couples competed in this version with no returning champions.
Round 1
To begin the game, all 3 couples faced off in a stunt. The at first,0 pair to complete the stunt got 10 points and the vantage of having to activity a alone stunt first. Each couple in corner starting with the couple who won the opening stunt played a 30-second stunt. Before that, they first had to answer a two-part question. After the answer was inquired, the petticoat actor got to answer and, if she was correct, the male partner got to answer (occasionally they could either answer). If either correct answers were given, 10 seconds was added to the time as a total of 40 seconds. Either way they would then melodrama the stunt. If the stunt was completed the couple won 10 points plus 1 as every second left on the Clock (Ex: 10 + 3 sec. = 13 points).
Round 2
Again all three couples played a face-off stunt. The couples were positioned according to their score, with the couple in first place getting the advantage, the second place couple in the middle, and third at a drawback. This was an disposal stunt in which first two couples to complete the stunt advanced to round three, while the couple coming in last was eliminated.
Round 3
In this round only one stunt was played. Two minutes was the starting time for the stunt, and the two remaining couples bid opposition each other to see who played the stunt with a lower time limit. Control of who starts the bidding was determined by a question in which the woman of the team that won the Elimination Stunt judged to either have the partner answer or have the antagonists answer. Whoever won the question started the bidding. The bidding round was played until one team told the other to “Beat the Clock”, at which point the antagonistic team played the stunt in the adapted time limit. If the couple could perform the stunt among that time limit, they won the game, otherwise the other team won. The winning couple went on to the Bonus Round.
Bonus Round (“The Swirling Whirlwind of Cash and Prizes”)
The winning couple went into a play district,0 called “The Swirling Whirlwind of Cash and Prizes”, inside of which was over $25,000 in cash and prizes ($100,000 in the pilot). The winning couple had 60 seconds to grab as many dollar bills and prize vouchers as they can. They could only grab what was in the air, nothing on the ground, although they could kick up what was on the ground. Each time they grabbed the cash and prizes, the female partner had to mallet them in the male partner’s tiny bag caned around his waist. When time ran out, the team had to put their hands in the air, letting work of any money in their hands, and bring an end to .... Everything that was in the bag was theirs to reserve. The host usually throws some surplus money and vouchers in at the beginning.
Later in the run, a gold greenback bill was added. If it was grabbed the money won was doubled (addition cash if prizes were won, or adding $500 in cash for each one grabbed to the team’s total, on the pilot).
The “swirling whirlwind” was previously used in the bonus round of The Diamond Head Game, a show hosted by Bob Eubanks in 1975.
British version
Although Beat the Clock was not a agenda in its own right in the United Kingdom, it was hugely popular there as a part of ATV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium on the ITV web from 1955-1967, and is still very well-remembered.
It was hosted by the Palladium show’s comperes, successively Tommy Trinder, Bruce Forsyth (later the host of many other games including The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, You Bet!, and Bruce’s Price is Right), Don Erroll, Norman Vaughan, and Jimmy Tarbuck.
The series was sometimes recovered then, notably in a BBC variety show hosted by Mike Smith in 1987.
References
^ Cost of Living Calculator
External links
Canadian Communications Foundation: Beat the Clock (background of Canadian involvement, 1970-1974)
Beat the Clock at the Internet Movie Database
Beat the Clock at TV.com
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