Break the Bank

I remember watching the mid 70s revival of Break the Bank and it was one of the funniest game shows along with Hollywood Squares and Match Game. It was a simple game with nine stars and an outstanding host in Tom Kennedy as two contestants won money by determining which star gave the correct answer to a question.

However, ABC never gave the show a chance, lasting only 15 weeks because they wanted to expand their long-running soaps One Life to Live and General Hospital. Break the Bank had high ratings and the network squandered a potential hit with its premature cancellation. Why couldn't ABC move the show to an earlier time period such as 11 AM EST where they aired Happy Days reruns? Also, this was the first show since the quiz show scandals from Jack Barry and Dan Enright and paved the way for revivals of The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough. They should have considered moving the show to another network.

The Break the Bank theme was also used years later on The Joker's Wild's Million Dollar Touranment and or a short-lived syndicated show Soapworld. A great game show theme from Stu Levin. I should also point out that on the syndicated version hosted by Barry, he wore dark glasses due to the bright studio lights. Break the Bank was a show that should have had a longer run.