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YEAR: 1949
DIRECTOR: Max Ophuls
PINBALL MODEL(S): Carnival (1948, Bally)
GAME LOCATION: Mansion
NOTES: A narcissistic, power-abusing millionaire (played by Robert Ryan and based upon real-life tycoon Howard Hughes) is shown to own this pin as part of his ostentatious home. Thus, this is one of the rare pinball scenes not set within a cafe or bar, and the machine is instead framed by the film as an asset of the wealthy.
Ryan's character—a hypochondriac and emotionally-manipulative tyrant—topples the machine while having a heart-attack (either imagined or fake) and clings to it as he begs his persecuted wife for help. The crash of the upended pin (which occurs off-camera) is what alerts her of the event.
It is difficult to see in my low-resolution screen-capture, but the glass for the pin-table is broken. Because we don't actually see the table fall, it is likely that the broken glass is a carefully arranged artifact of the set design, rather than the result of actually destroying the table.
