Doomed Ending.....

[DEAD BEAT]

I know that the doomed end of Dawn has always been a topic but i must throw this out. I was recently watching Document of the Dead and when George and the director are walking around the mall talking he states clear as day that both ending's were shot! I was just thinking about it and how it has even become a matter to talk about, i guess by now we can assume it will never materialize but it sure did exsist at one time or another! Any comments?

[AcesandEights]

Can celluloid be used as a substitute for rolling papers? If so, George and assorted hangers-on probably smoked the footage at some point around oh, '78 or '79. That's my official take on the mystery.

[sandrock74]

Geez, this "alternate ending" footage is like the mysterious "spider pit" scene from the original 30's King Kong. Was it filmed? Did it exist/Does it? Yeesh.

[MikePizzoff]

I own the original film roll of Fran being beheaded.

[MoonSylver]

Geez, this "alternate ending" footage is like the mysterious "spider pit" scene from the original 30's King Kong. Was it filmed? Did it exist/Does it? Yeesh. Except the spider pit footage eventually surfaced didn't it? There seems to be so much vague memory surrounding this I don't know if we'll ever have an answer unless the foot actually DOES surface. From what I understand a test shot was done of the Fran spfx & then the dummy was used for the shotgun to the head gag, so I've always leaned toward no...

[sandrock74]

Except the spider pit footage eventually surfaced didn't it? Nope. It was filmed for the 2005 King Kong, but the original 30's footage has never resurfaced. It was allegedly cut from the film after it SO traumatized audiences and its never been seen anywhere since. Personally, I don't think it was ever filmed. We're relying on the memories of people who are in their 80's and 90's as "proof" that it was ever seen. I, myself, need more proof than that.

[capncnut]

I was recently watching Document of the Dead and when George and the director are walking around the mall talking he states clear as day that both ending's were shot! According to Savini, it was only partially shot. Just a basic head effect followed by her body falling away from the chopper - maybe 3-4 seconds at most. Where is this footage, who knows? Then again, Savini's memories can change drastically per DVD commentary/interview and he's a bit Jackanory-ish at times. This is not a knock 'cos let's face it, we'd all be a bit sktechy when it comes to FX made 31 years ago, especially when there's been so much work after. The one thing that's consistent is the "Tom, start thinking of ways to kill people" line.

[bassman]

All I've ever seen is a photograph of the dummy sitting on the roof of the mall. I think we'll eventually see some sort of footage from this scene, but it will be so short and pointless we'll wonder why we ever cared.

[Trencher]

I own the original film roll of Fran being beheaded. Get your local studio to make it into digital format and show it to us! That would be cool.

[slickwilly13]

The 30's King Kong scene was filmed. I only saw still shots of what happened. There was other things down there eating them besides giant insects and arachnids. Smaller dinosaurs, too.

[blind2d]

Sounds nice. Everyone here realizes they sound like old fogies when talking about a '30s film right? (Just kidding, I respect you guys more than I do my parents).

[3pidemiC]

Yep.

[sandrock74]

Yep. You know thats from King Kong? If it is, its the first ever picture I've ever seen of it! Still, how bad could claymation creatures "eating" people be? Grown adults couldn't handle that?? It's like the warning before the old Universal Frankenstein movie. When I saw that, I started laughing!

[clanglee]

People weren't as jaded as they are today. Society was even more puritanical, and film was new. I know it would shock me if I had little experience with the moving picture and I saw something from my nightmares come to life on screen in front of my eyes. No matter how "badly done" it seems to us, that was cream of the crop ahead of it's time technology back then!!

[slickwilly13]

It is King Kong. Notice the dinosaur in the background. The same type that made the cut after that scene. It was crawling up a large vine after the lead character, before he cut the vine. Btw, from what I understand there was a lot of screaming and agony during the feeding scene. You have to realize movies were sort of new at the time. People were not exposed to violence in the theaters. Plus, people were uptight stiffs.