Dragonette

The Dragonette, designed by Wayne Neyens with artwork by Roy Parker, was produced by D. Gottlieb & Company in June 1954, with a confirmed production run of 950 units. This single-player electro-mechanical game shares its playfield layout with Gottlieb's 1954 '4-Belles'.

The gameplay centers on two flippers, two slingshots, and five trap holes that give players plenty to aim for and plenty to avoid. Five pop bumpers keep the ball action lively, while five rollover buttons add further scoring opportunities. The machine's sounds are classic mid-century Gottlieb: three bells and a knocker.

Dragonette's most charming feature is its theme. The artwork satirized 'Dragnet', the enormously popular police television show of the day, in the same comedic spirit as Stan Freberg's 1953 audio parody 'St. George and the Dragonet'. Interestingly, David Gottlieb had hired singer Jessica Dragonette to appear at coin machine functions, but according to the Gottlieb family the machine had no connection to her; it was purely a spoof of Dragnet. That playful pop-culture wink, rendered in Roy Parker's artwork, makes Dragonette a delightful snapshot of 1950s pinball.