Dawn of the Dead Collector's Blog: March 2021

28 March 2021

Dawn of the Dead First Public Theatrical Screening Clipping from the US

I was revisiting the 2004 documentary "The Dead Will Walk" from my Second Sight box set recently and experienced quite a WTF moment. At 1:05:15, we're shown a "SNEAK PREVIEW TONIGHT" Dawn of the Dead Theatrical Ad it seems, I had overlooked during my previous viewings. Inspecting the ads surrounding the Dawn of the Dead one revealed that it was published in The New York Times on Saturday 11 February 1978, making it, to the best of my knowledge, the first public theatrical screening ever. As some of you might know, principal photography would wrap up 9 days later, on 20 February 1978. Could this Preview be the same preview shown on the TV program "TV Debut with George Anderson" which aired on 26 February 1978 on WPGH-TV53?

Dawn of the Dead

Work in Progress Cut

11 February 1978 (New York, NY)

- SNEAK PREVIEW -

The New York Times - National Edition, 1978-02-11, p. ?? [1]

(Screenshot from The Dead Will Walk documentary)

I tried to locate the ad myself in The New York Times archives so I could offer you guys the full newspaper page as I've been doing with all other clippings I published on the blog. I was able to locate the New York Times from 11 February 1978 but to my surprise, that Dawn of the Dead ad was not there. The Star Wars ad is there, The Choirboys ad is there, the Kennel Murder Case (FEB. 11 SAT. ONLY!) ad is there, The Lacemaker ad is there, the Starship Invasions ad is there but no sign of that Dawn of the Dead ad I'm looking for.

Doing a bit of research, I found out that The New York Times was published twice daily; one edition named "National Edition", the other "Late City Edition" and from what I understand, The New York Times archives available on their "TimesMachine", only offer the "Late City Edition".

So, it would seem that this Dawn of the Dead ad I'm looking for was only published in the National Edition which I have yet to locate in order to provide the full newspaper page.

Here are the pages where the ad is missing from the "Late City Edition".

(Click to enlarge)

The New York Times - Late City Edition, 1978-02-11, p. 13-14 [2]

To quote this article

Danny Duchesneau@2021, "Dawn of the Dead First Public Theatrical Screening Clipping from the US", Dawn of the Dead Collector's Blog, published on 28 March 2021.

__________

[1] PERRY MARTIN, The Dead Will Walk, US, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2004.

[2] TimesMachine (The New York Times)

15 March 2021

Dawn of the Dead Theatrical Screening & Release Clippings from the US

Newspaper clippings for the screenings and theatrical release of Dawn of the Dead in the US.

(Clicking on a clipping below will open the original full newspaper page, in high resolution, where it was sourced from.)

Dawn of the Dead

Work in Progress Cut

11 February 1978 (New York, NY)

Please read this article for more details.

- SNEAK PREVIEW -

The New York Times - National Edition, 1978-02-11, p. ?? [5]

Dawn of the Dead

Extended 'Cannes' Cut

? October 1978 (Pittsburgh, PA)

- PRIVATE MIDNIGHT SHOWING -

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1978-10-23, p. 8 [1]

Dawn of the Dead

Extended 'Cannes' Cut

1 December 1978 (New York, NY)

- MAJOR PREVIEW -

Daily News, 1978-12-01, p. 16 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Extended 'Cannes' Cut

11 January 1979 (Ann Arbor, MI)

- SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW -

The Michigan Daily, 1979-01-11, p. 2 [2]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

8 February 1979 (New York, NY)

- PREVIEW -

Daily News, 1979-02-08, p. 40 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

14 February 1979 (Cincinnati, OH)

- PREVIEW -

The Cincinnati Enquirer, 1979-02-14, p. B-12 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

17 February 1979 (Los Angeles, CA)

- PREVIEW -

The Los Angeles Times, 1979-02-17, p. 10 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

20 February 1979 (Charlotte, NC)

- PREVIEW -

The Charlotte Observer, 1979-02-20, p. 2B [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

23 February 1979 (Daly City, CA)

- PREVIEW -

The San Francisco Examiner, 1979-02-23, p. 27 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

26 February 1979 (Kansas City, MO)

- PREVIEW -

The Kansas City Star, 1979-02-26, p. 5 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

27 February 1979 (St. Louis, MO)

- PREVIEW -

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1979-02-27, p. 4D [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

28 February 1979 (Oakbrook, IL)

- PREVIEW -

Chicago Tribune, 1979-02-28, Section 3, p. 5 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

2 March 1979 (Atlanta, GA)

- PREVIEW -

The Atlanta Constitution, 1979-03-02, p. 6-C [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

14 March 1979 (San Francisco, CA)

- PREVIEW -

The San Francisco Examiner, 1979-03-13, p. 21 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Extended 'Cannes' Cut

16 March 1979 (Los Angeles, CA)

- INTERNATIONAL FILM EXPOSITION -

The Los Angeles Times, 1979-03-16, p. 30 [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

23 March 1979 (Minneapolis, MN)

- PREVIEW -

The Minneapolis Star, 1979-03-23, p. 9B [3]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

7 April 1979 (Dallas, TX)

- 1979 USA FILM FESTIVAL -

The Dallas Morning News, 1979-04-07, p. 2 F [4]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

12 April 1979 (Pittsburgh, PA)

- GALA-PREMIERE -

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1979-04-12, p. 20 [1]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

13 April 1979 (Pittsburgh, PA)

- PREMIERE ENGAGEMENT -

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1979-04-13, p. 13 [1]

Dawn of the Dead

Theatrical Cut

20 April 1979 (Pittsburgh, PA)

- RELEASE -

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1979-04-20, p. 31 [1]

To quote this article

Danny Duchesneau@2021, "Dawn of the Dead Theatrical Screening & Release Clippings from the US", Dawn of the Dead Collector's Blog, published on 15 March 2021.

__________

[1] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Archives.

[2] The Michigan Daily Digital Archives.

[3] Newspapers.com.

[4] GenealogyBank.com.

[5] PERRY MARTIN, The Dead Will Walk, US, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2004.