The Last Man on Earth (1964)

 

Dr. Robert Morgan is as the title states the last man on Earth.  A super germ has wiped out mankind, killing most and turning the rest into creatures that resemble vampires.  Except for  Morgan who is immune to the disease, which is more of a curse than anything else.  Through flashbacks and a voiceover we find out that it has been three years since the disease first started and in that time Morgan has had to watch all of his friends, his wife, and beloved child die from it.  Now he lives a miserable existence that sees him spend his days hunting down both the basics supplies he needs to live and the ever-present vampires.  Only to lock himself in his home every night, hiding from the creatures that come banging on his doors.  Everything changes when the last man on Earth catches sight of a woman.  But who is she and how did she survive?  

 

This first adaptation of the novella I am Legend is a mixed bag for me.  I find the movie to be very slow until the last 15 or 20 minutes.  Until he finds the girl most of the movie is Morgan wandering around the city going thru his daily routine and explaining why he is doing each thing in a voiceover.  This is followed by him sitting in his house listening to the vampires bang on the doors moaning “Morgan come out” and “Morgan we are going to kill you”.  This is followed by a flashback where we see Morgan’s family and friends long enough for them to die.  Ironically what keeps the first half of the movie from being too terribly bad is what makes it not work when the action picks up after the girl shows up and that it Vincent Price.  The movie is poorly written and without the skills of a great actor like Price the pacing would have made it nearly impossible to get through.  Price’s ability to show emotion without dialogue and another actor to play against is the only reason to watch.  But then after the girl shows up the movie’s tone changes quickly and Price is asked to be an action star.  You will never find anyone who is a bigger fan of Price than myself.  I can say without any hesitation that he isn’t an action star.  The guy can scare the shit out of you with a look (Dr. Phibes anyone?) but he runs like a girl.  Seriously check out the action scenes in this movie with a critical eye and be honest with yourself.  They just aren’t any good and it is because of Price.  He just isn’t a physical guy and had no business being cast in a movie like this.    

 

This movie suffers from two things.  The budget is too small for what they are trying to shoot and they shot it in Italy.  This is a very ambitious story that really required more money then they had.  If this is really a city that has been empty for three years it is in great shape.  No broken windows, no paper or dirt on the sidewalks, hell even the corpses are dressed nicely in clean clothes!  Also the “fortress” that the main character Morgan has made of his house is laughably bad.  There are just a couple of pieces of wood on a door that looks like it was made of cardboard.  Shooting in Italy didn’t help them either.  They set the movie in America and did their best to make to look that way, it clearly isn’t.  From the architecture to the foreign cars this is clearly a European movie.  I know this is picky, but it did bug me.  Also being shot in Italy means we have some terrible dubbing.  Whenever there is anyone other than Price on screen it sounds pretty damn silly.  Plus there is one scene where Price is sobbing that I swear to god doesn’t sound like him at all.  

 

The only reason this movie isn’t dumped into the pile of mediocre or worse films is because of it’s star.  I’ve said this many times, Vincent Price made everything he was in better.  Here he is the only reason to watch what is otherwise a slow and uninteresting movie.  

 

 

2 out of 4

 

reviewed by John Shatzer        

 

© Copyright 2008 John Shatzer