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Details

Blank Night

Archer, John

Vanishing Inc.

(Based on 1 review)
Penn and Teller's hit show Fool Us had a simple premise: perform an effect that the duo couldn't figure out. Only two magicians fooled Penn & Teller in the initial show, and one of those was John Archer. He did so with a smart, simple routine called "Blank Night," and Vanishing Inc. Magic is proud to release it.

"Blank Night" comes complete with everything you need to add it to your next show. Five envelopes are shown and you explain that one of them contains a prize of $100 (use any amount or currency). Audience members choose four of the five envelopes but discover they have only won small consolation prizes (such as a $0 bill, or nothing at all).

Without any suspicious moves, the final envelope is clearly opened to reveal $100 inside! The bills are not folded and are seen clearly being pulled from inside the envelope. No body loads, envelope switches or thumbtips. "Blank Night" left both Penn and Teller speechless!

Comes complete with detailed, fully-illustrated instruction booklet, specially-manufactured envelopes and gimmicks. Envelopes come blank so that you can write whatever words you would like on them.

Reviews

Dr. J. M. Ayala De Cedoz

Official Reviewer

Jun 18, 2013

When this effect hit the market it was all the rage because it had fooled Penn & Teller over in England on their television show, Fool Us! and I can see why it did!

The effect is based on an old stand-by called Bank Night, which was/is popular with both magicians and mentalists. Even Max Maven details a handling of Bank Night in his popular video series, "VideoMind".

The effect is straightforward and you can see a clip on YouTube of the performance on the Penn & Teller show. The manuscript is well laid out and instructions are clear for the most part, but some people may have trouble interpreting the illustrations that accompany the text. I found that I had to make a slight alteration to the gimmick to make it work for me, but everything is described sufficiently.

One of the best things about this routine is that it can play for any size of audience beyond the close-up venues, and for any type of audience. The possibilities for the words on the envelopes and the script(s) that accompany them, as well as the "prizes" that are offered within are endless and limited only by your imagination.

I like the fact that John does not provide you with a script in the instructions - though you can easily get it from the YouTube video - it challenges you to be more creative and come up with your own rather than just copying!

My only gripe is that you do not get enough extra envelopes with the product as backups in case you make a mistake in printing or writing on the envelopes or need to make another gimmick. That factor led to docking half a star in rating. That being said, the envelopes themselves and the gimmick are pretty straightforward. At the time of this writing there is a choice of blue or yellow envelopes when you purchase this effect.

If you live in the U.S. you might have trouble finding the necessary envelopes at any old stationery or office supply store, including the big box stores. I found a company that carries exactly what you need and is the same brand used by John Archer. It is based in the U.S. and is called Envelope Mall. They also offer many more color choices, some of which are better for this effect than others because of the visibility factor.

As far as the price is concerned, it is not too bad but I feel for what it is, it is just a tad too high. Somewhere around $16-$20 would have been better but it is still worth the $24.

Even if you are familiar with Bank Night, this will fool you. This handling is clean, direct and plays very well. Highly recommended!
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