exploring the arcade in ハイティーンやくざ / Hai tiin yakuza / Teenage Yakuza (1962)

via this tweet by TOO_yoshikawa I learned of the movie ハイティーンやくざ which has 2 scenes at a smart ball parlor in it.

ハイティーンやくざ (1962)

The tables being played:

1950s Lucky Ball - ラッキーボール by YMラッキー株式会社 (YM Lucky Co., Ltd.)

I hope I can find more information on the YM company.  Their tables seem quite prolific from the 50s and 60s.

Lucky Ball has come to denote the 4x4 grid configuration we see above, where you can win by completing a row, column, or one of the 2 diagonals.

Here is a better shot of what I think is the same model:

There are a few variations in this style of smart ball.  This one, as in the movie, there is no opening to the front players' trough.  The attendant uses a scoop to serve the balls to players:

I am actually trying to find early smart ball scoops for my own collection.

Note in this photo there is no front trough opening facing the player:

Other YM models would have a handle at the back which slides the baffle board, causing the balls to fall out to the front tray for the player to shoot.  I am unsure if these were produced at the same time, but I assume it's a later innovation.  Also note how much more metal this table has:

The above table is an odd example that has the front trough AND space at the back to collect balls.  I'm unsure if that means it was switchable by the operator.

The back:

This is different from this Corinthball table that has the front trough, but no ball collection at the back:

Back to the movie:  this woman is singing to the players.  

You can see the prizes (cigarettes?) stacked on some of the tables:

But in comes the yakuza thugs!

dammit, no!  I can still repair those, I'm sure of it...

You know I'm a sucker for a good "throwing a case of balls" shot.

The fight is now outside and we can see the sign: "SMART BALL  スマートボール"

I asked a friend and for those who are curious the motorcycle there appears to be a Yamaha YD-2, made between 1958 and 1961.

Yamaha YD-2

The movie shows some cheating, with the man on the left lifting the playfield glass to place a ball.

Remember the woman singing?  Here she is sneaking down and grabbing extra balls for her friend to shoot.  I am unsure how well this kind of cheating would actually work if the players always received a specific # of balls.  The attendant would just have to count the # of balls on the playfield before giving the winning prize.