Flasher (Bell Fruit)

The Flasher (Bell Fruit), manufactured by Mills Novelty Company in August 1937, is not a pinball machine at all — it is a coin-operated gambling device that operates like a slot machine. Its glass playfield has no moving parts; instead, it displays slot-machine symbols that light up from behind after the player pulls a side handle, in the manner of a traditional fruit machine.

Payouts are made according to the award schedule printed on the backglass, dispensed into a spring-loaded metal cup on the front underside of the cabinet. According to a September 1937 trade article, the Flasher used the same internal mechanisms as Mills' 1933 Mystery Blue Front Bell slot machine, repackaged in a cabinet resembling Mills' 1935 pinball title 'Ten Grand.' It sold for 5-cent play at $149.50 when new.

For locations where the gambling-themed 'Bell Fruit' symbols were undesirable, Mills also offered a 'Race Horse' themed version of the same machine. Despite its pinball-style cabinet, the Flasher belongs to the lineage of coin-operated slot machines rather than true pinball games.