Night 20 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 20 of the 3rd annual Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween. Make sure to stop by our Giveaway Post and enter to win a $400+ Prize Pack full of frightfully good treats from 24 spooktacular shops! Tonight we have the next movie from the Halloween Movie Marathon. Follow along for an extra 10 entries in the giveaway and play the Guess The Movie game for even more. We also have the next clue in the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Gather clues for daily entries and a surprise at the end of the giveaway. But that's not all! Keep reading to find the next feature on one of our participating shops. Visit us each day during October so you do not miss any of the fun.

Hitchcock Inspired Charm Bracelet  $55
Custom Order

Purchase any item(s) from Laughing Vixen Lounge through October 31st and get 10% off your order. Use code OTOBER10 at checkout.

Scares That Care
In addition to having lots of fun we want to try and do a little good too Many of our shops have chosen a charity to fundraise for. A certain percentage or dollar amount of each sale made through the participating shops, during the giveaway, will be donated to the charity of their choice. You will find each shops details on the main Giveaway Post and on their shop feature.

Laughing Vixen Lounge will be donating $1 from each item sold during October to Support Supernatural to help A Dog's Life Rescue. The amazing gals at Support Supernatural (as in the TV show) have been fundraising for A Dog's Life Rescue since 2009 and have raised over $100,000 to help animals in need.  

Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt - Night 20
Our scavenger hunt will work like the game Clue this year. Every week you will be looking for clues to a different part of the mystery ~ Settings, Suspects, Rooms, Weapons and Escapes. They will be hidden within an item listing inside one of our participating shops. On each daily post you will be given a hint as to where the main clue is hiding. Once you find the clue go to the main Giveaway Post and find that night's entry on the Rafflecopter widget. You must leave the clue through the Rafflecopter! Do not post the clue anywhere on the blog. If you do it will be deleted and will not count. If you have any questions just ask.

Make sure to keep a list of all the clues as you collect them. On the last day of the giveaway you will be able to submit your guess of how the murder happened. Anyone who actually guesses correctly will win a Surprise Goodie Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These goodie bags are made to suit your taste and usually end up being at least a $50 value! You can start the scavenger hunt game at anytime during the giveaway and go back to find past clues. Clues will stay posted through the entire giveaway.

Night 20
An object lay on the ground.
This week you will be collecting clues to the weapons of the crime.

Tonight's clue is hiding in Eternal Girl.
Need a little help finding the clue? Mr. Bug's wife.


Featured Shop - Eternal Girl

Eternal Girl is run by Julia from Rockville, Maryland. Her shop is filled with henna inspired hand drawn jewelry and greeting cards.

Moon & Stars Necklace  $11

How did you choose your shop name?
"Eternal girl is the female version of a term used in mythology to describe a child-like being craving boundless freedom. I associate my artwork with the undying need to reach out and extend my limitations through love and life."

Swan Greeting Card  $3.50

Why did you choose to make/sell what you do?
"I started making jewelry a few years ago, in 2011. I ordered some necklace supplies and began experimenting. After about a year of making necklaces as gifts, my friends encouraged me to sell them online."

Vanda Flower Necklace  $11

What inspires the designs/creations you make?
"My artwork gives me a chance to connect with individuals I wouldn't normally interact with everyday. I love creating and keeping my mind focused through jewelry making. I keep in mind that with each piece I work on, someone will own, appreciate, and take care of the jewelry. I feel a sense of connection through the transference of a simple object."

Floral Heart Earrings  $8.60

What new designs/creations would you like to add to your shop in the future?
"More animal designs; I'm open to suggestions as well."

Indian Peacock Necklace  $11

You'll have a chance to win your choice of necklace from Eternal Girl. Enter now on the main giveaway post.

Owl Necklace  $11

Visit Eternal Girl and use coupon code CUSTOM20 at checkout for 20% off your order.

Since it's Halloween I asked the shops to share their favorite spooky movie. 
"I really like The Cell. I love the imagery of the dreams the director creates."

 

 

Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween Movie Marathon.
Follow along with us for a month full of classic and modern spooky movies. For something a little different this year we have decided to do themed weeks. Week 1 ~ Zombies, Week 2 ~ Werewolves and Vampires, Week 3 ~ Stephen King, Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features and Week 5 ~ Lounge Favorites.

On each daily post there will be a review of the next movie in our movie marathon. Leave a comment on each post with your opinion of that movie. On the last day of the giveaway you will find the Magic Phrase you will use to unlock the entry on the main Giveaway Post worth 10 entries. You must comment on each movie post to qualify.

Guess The Movie Game
This year we decided not to post the movie list in full so we can play a fun game instead. Each daily post will have a clue to the next night's movie. Leave your guess on the Rafflecopter widget, on the main Giveaway Post, for 1 entry in the giveaway. Please do not post guesses anywhere else on the blog or they will be deleted and not count.

**Guesses must be posted the same day as their clue to receive the entry** Rafflecopter runs on Eastern Standard Time. You can only post 1 guess per 24 hour period. So if you miss a day you can not make it up. 

NEW ~ This week is Classic Double Feature Week. 2 classic movies that have something in common. So you need to guess 2 movies and you can try to guess what their common link is. Some of these will really test your B movie/classic monster movie knowledge. Good luck!

Tonight's Clues ~
Movie #1 ~ Jello from outer space.
Movie #2 ~ Swimming, stealing pretty girls, hanging out in an underwater cave ~ it's all in a days work for a monster.

Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features

Night 20 - Hitchcock - Rear Window and Psycho


First Feature ~ Rear Window

Tagline - Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he
              watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways...and
              Murder!
              In deadly danger...because they saw too much!


Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (The Birds and Shadow of a Doubt) and released on January 29, 1955 by Paramount Pictures (Not rated). Jeff (James Stewart) is stuck in his apartment with a cast on his leg. Bored, he spends his time spying on his neighbors. It's fun until he witnesses what he is convinced is a murder. Can he and his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), discover the truth before the murderer (Raymond Burr) discovers them?

If you like good old fashioned thrillers this one will not disappoint. It is one of Hitchcock's best. Full of atmosphere, tension and great acting. Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Raymond Burr are all fantastic in this film. Jimmy watching Grace search through Mr. Burr's apartment knowing he could find her at any moment... that is just good stuff!!!

If you have not seen it you should. If you have you should watch it again. Hitchcock really did know how to make a great movie.


Take a look at the original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie.
1. All of the sound in the film is diegetic, meaning that all the music, speech and other sounds all come from within the world of the film [with the exception of non-diegetic orchestral music heard in the first three shots of the film].
2. The only film in which Grace Kelly is seen with a cigarette. She refused to smoke in films, except this once.
3. Alfred Hitchcock supposedly hired Raymond Burr to play Lars Thorwald because he could be easily made to look like his old producer David O. Selznick, who Alfred Hitchcock felt interfered too much.
4. During the month-long shoot Georgine Darcy, who played "Miss Torso", "lived" in her apartment all day, relaxing between takes as if really at home.
5. While shooting, Alfred Hitchcock worked only in Jeff's "apartment." The actors in other apartments wore flesh-colored earpieces so that he could radio his directions to them.
6. The film was unavailable for decades because its rights (together with four other pictures of the same period) were bought back by Alfred Hitchcock and left as part of his legacy to his daughter. They've been known for long as the infamous "Five Lost Hitchcocks" among film buffs, and were re-released in theatres around 1984 after a 30-year absence. The others are The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, The Trouble with Harry, and Vertigo. However, prior to the theatrical re-releases in the 1980's, "Rear Window" was televised once, in 1971, on ABC, although the network technically did not have the legal right to do so.
7. The entire picture was shot on one set, which required months of planning and construction. The apartment-courtyard set measured 98 feet wide, 185 feet long and 40 feet high, and consisted of 31 apartments, eight of which were completely furnished. The courtyard was set 20 to 30 feet below stage level, and some of the buildings were the equivalent of five or six stories high. The film was shot quickly on the heels of Dial M for Murder, November 27 1953-February 26 1954.
8. To accommodate the enormous set, a higher ceiling was required. Alfred Hitchcock had the production company tear out the entire floor of the studio, revealing the basement. What the audience sees as the courtyard was originally the basement level of the studio.
9. The first German dubbing was created in 1955. After the rights to this movie reverted back to Alfred Hitchcock, all prints of this version were destroyed. When the film became available again in 1984, a new dubbing had to be created since the old version could not be located. It is presumed lost.
10. At the time the set was the largest indoor set built at Paramount Studios.
11. The size of the set necessitated excavation of the sound stage floor. Thus Jeff's apartment was actually at street level.
12. The love affair between war photographer Robert Capa and actress Ingrid Bergman is believed to be Alfred Hitchcock's inspiration for the film's romantic aspect.
13. One thousand arc lights were used to simulate sunlight. Thanks to extensive pre-lighting of the set, the crew could make the changeover from day to night in under forty-five minutes.
14. All the apartments in Thorwald's building had electricity and running water, and could be lived in.
15. Once during the filming, the lights were so hot that they set off the sound stage sprinkler system.
16. Screenwriter John Michael Hayes based Lisa on his own wife, who'd been a professional fashion model when they married.
17. The 35mm camera that James Stewart holds with the huge telephoto lens attached is an early 1950s Exakta VX (also known as the "Varex" outside the USA) manufactured in Dresden, (east) Germany. The lens is a 400mm Kilfitt. The Paramount property department purposely covered over the name with black masking tape.
18. The original story by Cornell Woolrich had no love story and no additional neighbors for L.B. Jeffries to spy on, and was created by Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes. Hayes was encouraged by Hitchcock to spend time with Grace Kelly before writing the Lisa character and Hayes admitted that elements of Lisa were inspired by the actress.
19. The lens James Stewart uses on his camera to spy on his neighbors, is reportedly a 400mm prime telephoto, the magnification of which, would render it near impossible to use effectively without a tripod.
20. Alfred Hitchcock:  about a half hour into the film, winding the clock in the songwriter's apartment. The songwriter is real-life songwriter Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
21. In addition to Mahon, Alfred Hitchcock noted in the modern interview that the 1910 case of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen also served as an inspiration for the film. Crippen, an American living in London, poisoned his wife and cut up her body, then told police that she had moved to Los Angeles. Crippen was eventually caught after his secretary, with whom he was having an affair, was seen wearing Mrs. Crippen's jewelry, and a family friend searched unsuccessfully for Mrs. Crippen in California. After Scotland Yard became involved, Crippen and his mistress fled England under false names and were apprehended on an ocean liner. Police found parts of Mrs. Crippen's body in her cellar.
22. The film was inspired in part by the real-life murder case of Patrick Mahon. In 1924, in Sussex, England, Mahon murdered his pregnant mistress, Emily Kaye, and dismembered her body. In the modern interview, Alfred Hitchcock claimed that Mahon threw the body parts out of a train window piece by piece and burned the head in his fireplace. Another modern source, however, states that Mahon quartered the body and stored it in a large trunk, then removed internal organs, putting some in biscuit tins and a hatbox and boiling others on the stove.


Second Feature ~ Psycho

Taglines - No One ... BUT NO ONE ... Will Be
               Admitted To The Theatre After The Start
               Of Each Performance Of Alfred
               Hitchcock's Psycho.
               It Is Required That You See Psycho From
               The Very Beginning!
               Don't give away the ending - it's the only
               one we have!


Alfred Hitchcock directed this film version of the novel by Robert Bloch. Released by Paramount Studios (but actually owned by and filmed at Universal Studios) on August 25, 1960 (Not rated). Secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) decides on a whim to steal $40,000 and run off to be with her boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin). She may have gotten away with it if she had not made one fatal error...stopping at The Bates Motel for the night. Caretaker Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his "Mother" make this an unfortunate night for Marion. Can her sister Lila Crane (Vera Miles) and Sam solve the mystery of what happened to Marion or will they fall prey to The Bates Motel too?

I simply adore this movie. The black and white is gorgeous and the music is divine. It truly is one of the scariest scores out there. The fact that it's over 50 years old, there is no gore and not a lot of violence, and it can still scare you is a testament to how well made it is.

Anthony Perkins is brilliant as the overgrown child Norman Bates. His dialogue with Marion in the parlour is engrossing. He goes from innocent to dark and back again with ease (this probably should have been her cue to leave right then and there!). The whole scene where he cleans the bathroom just makes my skin crawl.

I know I'm probably the only one that actually liked the Gus VanSant remake of Psycho but Vince Vaughn did a great job at the role of Norman. It's always tricky stepping into an iconic role like that but I think he did good at capturing Anthony Perkins' Norman while still making it his own. Either way you look at it it's still creepy watching either of them eating those candy corns with that slightly evil boyish smile.

And there's the house. I love it and the motel. Just plain creepy and wonderful! It was largely based on the painting "House by the Railroad" by Edward Hopper, 1925.

Take a look at the original trailer




Some trivia about the movie
1. Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously from Robert Bloch for only US$9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he could to keep the ending a secret.
2. Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is about four minutes in wearing a cowboy hat outside Marion's office.
3. Walt Disney refused to allow Alfred Hitchcock to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie "Psycho".
4. In the opening scene, Marion Crane is wearing a white bra because Alfred Hitchcock wanted to show her as being "angelic". After she has taken the money, the following scene has her in a black bra because now she has done something wrong and evil. Similarly, before she steals the money, she has a white purse; after she's stolen the money, her purse is black.
5. Marion's white 1957 Ford sedan is the same car (owned by Universal) that the Cleaver family drove on "Leave It to Beaver" (1957).
6. First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.
7. The novel "Psycho", written by Robert Bloch, was actually part of a series of pulp novels marketed in conjunction with the popular spooky radio show "Inner Sanctum".
8. To ensure the people were in the theaters at the start of the film (rather than walking in part way through) the studio provided a record to play in the foyer of the theaters. The album featured background music, occasionally interrupted by a voice saying "Ten minutes to Psycho time," "Five minutes to Psycho time," and so on.
9. The Bates house was largely modeled on an oil painting at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The canvas is called "House by the Railroad" and was painted in 1925 by American iconic artist Edward Hopper. The architectural details, viewpoint and austere sky is almost identical as seen in the film.
10. In the murder scene in the shower, we never see the knife actually touching the victim's body.
11. The last shot of Norman Bates' face has a still frame of a human skull superimposed on it, almost subliminally. The skull is that of Mother.
12. Alfred Hitchcock strictly mandated, and even wrote into theater managers' contracts, that no one arriving after the start of each showing of "Psycho" would be admitted into the theater until the beginning of the next showing.