| Break the ($250,000) Bank | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game show |
| Presented by | Bert Parks (1948-1957) Bud Collyer (1948-1953 with Parks, 1953 daytime) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC (1948-1949, 1954-1956) NBC (1949-1952, 1953, 1956-1957) CBS (1952-1953) |
| Original run | October 22, 1948 – January 15, 1957 |
Break the Bank is an American quiz show which aired variously on Mutual Radio and ABC, CBS and NBC television from 1945 to 1957.
Contents |
Sponsored by Vicks, the series began on radio October 20, 1945, heard Saturdays on Mutual until April 13, 1946. Initially, it featured different hosts each week, including John Reed King and Johnny Olson. Bert Parks became the full-time host in 1946. With Vitalis as the sponsor, the series returned Friday, July 5, 1946, on ABC for a run until September 23, 1949. Bud Collyer and Bob Shepherd were the announcers, and Peter Van Steeden provided the music.[1]
The questions were written by Joseph Nathan Kane, the author of Famous First Facts, who hand-delivered the sealed envelopes to the radio studio. Jack Rubin directed for producers Walt Framer and Ed Wolfe. On October 5, 1949, the series moved to NBC, continuing until September 13, 1950. It was heard weekdays on NBC in 1950-51 and weekdays on ABC (1951-53). With Miles Laboratories as the sponsor, it moved back to weekdays on NBC (1953-55), overlapping with a weekdays series on Mutual (1954-55).[1]
In 1948, Radio Mirror called Break the Bank "the highest-paying quiz program in the world." That same year, the series moved to television with Bert Parks and Bud Collyer co-hosting.
Contestants were drawn from the studio audience and brought up on stage to play a quiz game. The contestant was asked a series of questions, each worth progressively more money. The goal was to provide eight correct answers before making two mistakes. The first right answer won the contestant $25, and the values increased to $50, $100, $200, $300, $400, $500, and finally the "break the bank" question worth all the money in the bank, which began at $1,000. Any contestant who missed two questions forfeited their winnings and they were added to the bank.
In this prime time revival the rules slightly changed. The contestant picked a category and was asked five questions on that category worth $100 a piece with one wrong answer ending the game. If they get all five right they could walk with $500 or risk it and answer on one question that would up the score to $5,000. The contestant would then return for the next several weeks to answer questions worth $10,000. Prize money increased as the player continued, up to $250,000. A wrong answer along the way simply ended the game.
The record bank win was $8,870 until Break the $250,000 Bank was created in response to The $64,000 Question and other big-money shows. However, that version ran for only three months (October 9, 1956 to January 15, 1957), and no contestants won anymore than $60,000 (won by dentist Harry Duncan).
The most notable contestants during this period were actress Ethel Waters, who won $10,000 she said would go toward back taxes, and two escapees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who competed in a special category – "Fight for Freedom".
Some episodes survive, including three at the UCLA Film and Television Archive (two from 1950, one from 1955). An episode from October 19, 1949 survives at the Paley Center for Media.