Night 23 of the Attack of the 31 Nights of Halloween

 

Welcome to night 23 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.

Rocket To The Moon Compact  $15

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

***When you are done with today's activities make sure to check out our other giveaways running this month. You can get extra entries for this giveaway by entering the others. You'll find them listed on the Rafflecopter on the main Giveaway Post***

Dark Beauty Collection ~ Compact Mirrors

ENDS TOMORROW ~ Win your choice of Compact Mirror from our new Dark Beauty Collection. This giveaway is being hosted by our friend at Pagan Culture blog and ends tomorrow at 5:13pm EST.

ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ ROCKtoberfest Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a music themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. These grab bags are custom made to suit your style and have been very popular prizes! Enter here on the LVL Blog.

ENDS OCTOBER 31st ~ Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Giveaway. This is a book themed giveaway and you can enter to win a Custom Mystery Grab Bag from Laughing Vixen Lounge. If you win I will create some fun designs just for you. Bags have at least a $50 value and can include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, compact mirrors, purse holders and more. Enter here on the LVL Blog.

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 fund raise 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 23
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 23
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 Giggles 'n Gifts.
Need a little help finding the clue? Don't let the monkeys steal your snacks.


Featured Shop - Giggles 'n Gifts

Giggles 'n Gifts is run by Zoe from Washington. Her shop is filled with colorful and fun items for childhood.

Butterfly A to Z Puzzle  $31.95

How did you choose your shop name?
"I was in a very bad auto accident, and was told many things while I had a near death. The store and a book were two things."

Baby Basics Gift Set  $34.95

Why did you choose to make/sell what you do?
"I'm inspired by my Grand Daughter's to find cute, fun and safe items for children at a price most every one can afford."

Scented Scoops Ice Cream Set  $29.95

What new items would you like to add to your shop in the future?
"I just started to sell Itzy Ritzy waterproof, washable, zip, BPA free snack and lunch bags. So many designs and great to have."

Two-Piece Turtle Salt Cellar  $17

Giggles 'n Gifts will be donating 50% of all proceeds during October to help her friend Jennifer's fight against breast cancer. Click here for fundraising page.

Calvin the Sock Monster  $37.95

You'll have a chance to win your choice of Christmas Ornament from Giggles 'n Gifts. Enter now on the main giveaway post. 

Baby Boy Or Girl Christmas Ornament  $14

Visit Giggles 'n Gifts and use coupon code VIXEN15 at checkout for 15% off your order.

Since it's Halloween I asked the shops to share their favorite spooky movie. 
"I don't watch scary movies anymore but my most memorable was when the Exorcist first came out. We stood in line for 6 hours and it started to rain. When I got home my Mom said I slept with the bathroom light on for weeks afterwards."

 

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 ~ Big lizard eats 1950's teenagers.
Movie #2 ~ Scientists on an island alter these little mouse-like creatures into large dog-like terrors.


Week 4 ~ Classic Double Features


Night 23 - Inspired By Sci Fi - The Thing From Another World and It! The Terror From Beyond Space.

First Feature ~ The Thing From Another World

Tagline - Look Out...It's The Thing.
             No One In This World Can Match It's Menace.
             WHAT IS IT?


Directed by Howard Hawks (Bringing Up Baby and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and released on April 29, 1951 by RKO Radio Pictures (Not rated). A group of scientist working in the Arctic find a spaceship and body buried in the ice. Someone has the bright idea of bringing the body back to camp and then not paying attention as it thaws out. Oops!!! Now the alien is on the loose and picking off people one by one.

Our first feature tonight inspired the big budget remake of it's self in 1982 directed by John Carpenter (Halloween and Christine) and staring Kurt Russel. The remake is a great, but very gory, film. Both films are based on a short story "Who Goes There?" by Don A. Stuart. There was also a prequel to The Thing released in 2011 with the same title.

The original is a fun, creepy and atmospheric movie. Yes, the Thing is rather silly up close but that's beside the point. It is the idea of it that works and makes the movie worth a watch.


Take a look at the original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie.
1. It is generally believed that Howard Hawks took over direction during production, and it has always been acknowledged by director Christian Nyby that Hawks was the guiding hand. However, in an interview James Arness said that while Hawks spent a lot of time on the set, it was Nyby who actually directed the picture, not Hawks.
2. Partly filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant.
3. This film was based on the short story "Who Goes There?" by Don A. Stuart. The credits on this film list the author by his real name, the science fiction editor/writer John W. Campbell Jr.
4. James Arness complained that his "Thing" costume made him look like a giant carrot.
5. Howard Hawks asked the US Air Force for assistance in making the film. He was refused because the top brass felt that such cooperation would compromise the U.S. government's official stance that UFOs didn't exist.
6. Close-ups of "The Thing" were removed. It was felt that the make-up could not hold up to close scrutiny. However, the lack of close-ups gave the creature a more mysterious quality.
7. James Arness reportedly regarded his role as so embarrassing that he didn't attend the premiere.
8. It took makeup artist Lee Greenway five months and 18 sculptures of the creature before he came up with a design that satisfied producer Howard Hawks.
9. When producer Howard Hawks attempted to get insurance for the creature, five insurance companies turned him down because "The Thing" was to be frozen in a block of ice, hacked by axes, attacked by dogs, lit on fire, and electrocuted.
10. The famous scene when the crew formed a ring around the flying saucer frozen in the ice, was actually filmed at the RKO Ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 100-degree weather.
11. This was the first of only two films made by Howard Hawks' own production company, Winchester Pictures Corporation. Winchester was Hawks' middle name.
12. The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.
13. Veteran stunt man Tom Steele replaced James Arness in the fire scene. Steele wore an asbestos suit with a special fiberglass helmet with an oxygen supply underneath. He used a 100% oxygen supply which was highly combustible. It was pure luck he didn't burn his lungs whilst breathing in the mixture.
14. Scotty mentions being at the execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray. This is a real case. The couple were tried for and convicted of the murder of Snyder's husband in 1927 and were executed in New York by the electric chair.
15. When Scotty mentions having attended the 1928 execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Grey, another character asks him if he was able to get a picture of it. Scotty answers, "No, they didn't allow cameras, but one guy - " He is interrupted by the Thing's approach before he can finish the sentence. Scotty is referring to Chicago Tribune photographer Tom Howard, who smuggled a miniature camera into the execution chamber strapped to his ankle and was able to take a famous photograph of Snyder's final moments in the electric chair.
16. As opposed to the interview with James Arness, the film's Star, Kenneth Tobey has maintained in many interviews that it was indeed Hawks who directed the film. Tobey said that he had worked with Nyby after this film on many occasions and he was a fine director, but Hawks did call the shots on most of the film.
17. Cost of the "Thing" was 40,000 dollars.


Second Feature ~ It! The Terror From Beyond Space

 

Tagline - The revelation shocker of things to come!
             It Breathes. It Hunts. It Kills!


Directed by Edward L. Cahn (She-Creature and Voodoo Woman) and released in August 1958 by United Artist (Not rated). The first manned mission to Mars is stranded and a rescue party is sent to find them. When they arrive there is only one survivor and he appears to have killed everyone else on board. No one believes him when he insist that an alien life form killed his crew members. That is until the journey back to earth when people start dying. Is it the survivor or is there something else with them? Muahahahaha!!!

Our second feature tonight inspired the 1979 classic, Alien. The creators of Alien have noted that It! The Terror From Beyond Space was an inspiration for their movie. More than an inspiration, Alien really is a big budget remake. So much so that varies people attached to the original have sued the makers of Alien for stealing their story. The original is a suspenseful tale of crew members of a ship being hunted down and killed by an alien being. OK, it might be a dude in a rubber suit but I think the movie works on all other levels. If you like old Sci Fi I highly recommend this one. 

I love how the poster advertises "$50,000 by a world renowned insurance company to the first person who can prove that "It" is not on Mars now!" Ha!!! It's great how they promoted these B movies.


Take a look at the original trailer.



Some trivia about the movie.
1. The final battle between the monster and crew is being shown at the drive-in during the Bryan Adams' video "Summer of '69".
2. On its initial release, the standard co-feature with this film was Curse of the Faceless Man.
3. The mask of the monster suit was altered considerably. When Ray Corrigan was fitted for the monster suit, the mask was initially too tight. Paul Blaisdell, the maker of the monster suit, had to remove and rebuild the monster's lower jaw so the mask would fit better. Unfortunately, Corrigan's chin stuck out through the opening made in the mask. Blaisdell made up Corrigan's chin to look like the monster's tongue. The mask's original eyes (large and catlike, a Blaisdell trademark) were also removed so that we see Corrigan's own eyes behind the mask.
4. In every shot of the ship moving through space the same star field is seen, indicating that the same shot is used each time. Especially noticeable are two bright stars at the lower right side of the screen.
5. The space helmets lack faceplates. When Carruthers and Calder exit the ship, Calder is seen to reach into his helmet and scratch his nose.
6. In the scene where ''It'' startles Gino, the cigarette sticks to his lip and he takes three tries to push it off with his tongue. The cigarette is supposed to fall out from fright as he is startled by ''It''.
7. Also know as It! The Vampire from Beyond Space.