The Last Man

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH-1964-Despite it's low budget drawbacks and some bad dubbing this first version of Richard Matheson's novel “I Am Legend” is pretty good. It inspired George Romero and John Russo on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. 

In 1965, three years after a mysterious plague turned the world populace into undead vampire like creatures, Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the title character, a scientist who is immune to the disease. He spends his days scouring the city looking for the secret hideout where the creatures are staying and when he finds any stragglers he drives wooden stakes through their hearts. At night he holds up in his house where a gang of the un-dead try to break in while their “leader” (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart; later in SNOW DEVILS) ( a former living friend of the doctor's) intones “Morgan, come out Morgan!”). They have decidedly vampire like weaknesses too. They only came out after sun down, don't like mirrors, garlic or crosses! 

Flashbacks reveal how things started with Morgan a once happy scientist with a wife and small daughter watching while the plague spreads throughout the world killing everyone around him with corpses (some still living) thrown into a huge burning pit. After his daughter is thrown there he vows not to let his wife go the same way and when she dies, he buries her, only to have a visit from her a few nights later! Back in the present Morgan finds a living dog and makes it his pet but the animal has the virus too and he has to “stake it”. Soon after he meets a mysterious woman (Franca Bettoia) named Ruth who suspiciously shows up and is allergic to garlic. It turns out she's a spy from a reorganized society that has found a temporary cure for the virus! But the group views Morgan as a “monster” and a “legend in the city” because many of the “vampires” he killed were actually part of the group. Ruth was dispatched to keep Morgan at bay so the group can come and kill him at night. “Your new society sounds charming”. Couldn't they have just sent a postcard saying: “Please stop”? 

After giving Ruth a transfusion of his own blood and curing her completely Morgan eludes the group (they seem to bring their women and children along on the hunt) for a short time but he's eventually shot and speared in a church after intoning “You're freaks. I'm a man. The last man”.

LMOE was produced by Robert Lippert and  Samuel Arkoff and filmed in Rome Italy (the film is supposed to take place in Los Angeles) and proved a drawback. As Price himself said “if there's one city on the face of the Earth that looks less like LA it's Rome”! Also the climatic chase scene finale is badly directed, very choppy and dark. Morgan somehow out runs his would be killers who are driving trucks and though they are only a few feet beyond him while chasing him up some stairs they never use their guns! 

Still scenes of the deserted streets littered with abandoned cars and corpses are well staged and the whole film has a eerie claustrophobic feel. The original Italian director is Ublado Ragona. The US version is credited to busy TV director Sidney Salkow (who worked with Price the same year on TWICE TOLD TALES). 

Price gives his all to the role evoking lots of sympathy but never going overboard. By today's standards he's probably miscast (so was Will Smith in the 2007 (second) remake) but who else would have starred in THE LAST MAN ON EARTH in 1964?! He made THE TOMB OF LIGEIA and THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH the same year. 

Richard Matheson co-wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Logan Swanson (he didn't care for the results of the film). He'd co-written THE COMEDY OF TERRORS (which co-starred Price) the year before.

Thanks for reading!