Horror Classic 48 of 50: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
Countdown update: After this film, I only have 2 left to go! Will I make it? Or will the next movie be so bad that it inspires me to feed myself to the walrus at the zoo? Stay tuned!
The Last Man on Earth stars Vincent Price. Released in 1964, it was based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, which would later be adapted as The Omega Man (with Charlton Heston), and again as I Am Legend (with Will Smith). How about that? Three different movies based on the same book, and they have three different titles! I can't think of any other instances of that happening, can you?
Why did the first two versions change the title? I don't know, but maybe it was because I Am Legend is a pretty stupid title. I honestly have to wonder if it was supposed to be called I Am a Legend and Richard Matheson just forgot the article. Or maybe it's a referene to some classic medieval poem or something and I'm just showing my ignorance. Duhhhh.
Synopsis
The opening credits list a bunch of actors other than Vincent Price, which seems kind of curious for a movie about the last living man on the planet.
Poor old Robert Morgan. He's quite lonely, you see, because he's the last man on Earth! What happened to everyone else? We won't find out until later. My guess? They were all eaten by the walrus at the zoo.
Morgan has his daily routine down: He gets up, sharpens a few stakes, hops in his car, and drives around the city killing the vampires that live in every nook and cranny. He disposes of their bodies by dumping them in an enormous funeral pyre. When night falls, he has to stay inside, so he throws some jazz records on the ol' turntable while vampires try to break into his house, bellowing his name.
See, Morgan's not the last man-like creature on Earth, he's just the last man who hasn't been infected by the nasty disease that turned everyone into a vampire. (They should've used that Airborne stuff!) I should note here that the vampires in this movie are a lot slower and more brainless than traditional movie vampires. In fact, they more closely resemble post-Night of the Living Dead zombies, which makes me wonder if the producers of that film had seen this one. I bet they had, and they were all like, "Hey, let's make us a movie about some creepy folks like that! Only we won't call 'em vampires, and we won't have Vincent Price killin' 'em! It'll be fun! Woo-hoo!" That's probably exactly what they said.
Anyway. There's a lot of scenes of Morgan killing things, dumping bodies, being sad. There's also an extended flashback which starts with his daughter's birthday party (Yaaay!) and ends with his wife and daughter both getting infected with the disease (Booo!). And then he finds a dog, and he's really happy that he's going to have a pet, but then the dog is infected too, so he has to kill it.
Perhaps you've concluded by now that this is not a happy movie.
So, one day Morgan is outside when he sees a broad walking around in lady daylight. I mean, he sees a lady walking around in broad daylight. Could it be? Is she really another normal human? Well, yes and no. The lady is one of a whole herd of people who have been infected, but have created a vaccine to keep the vampirism at bay. They know all about Morgan and his vampire-hunting hobby; in fact you might almost say he's a Legend. In fact, if he were to say it, he might almost say, "I Am a Legend." But under no circumstances would he say, "I Am Legend."
The thing about these non-vampire people, though, is that they're pretty mad at Morgan because he's accidentally been killing some of them under the mistaken impression that they're infected. Whoops. Sorry for killing your friends and dumping their bodies in a giant fire pit, guys. We cool?
No, they're not cool, and now Morgan finds himself running for his life from his fellow humans, who run a lot faster than the vampires, and also have weapons, and better hair.
Is It Scary?
It's certainly unsettling. The flashback was pretty tense, as Morgan and his wife watched their daughter degenerate into one of the infected. Too bad about the casting, though. The daughter under-acted and the wife over-acted... between the two of them they made one good actress.
Lessons I Learned
Most of the people in the world. But not as many as in Last Woman on Earth.
Comments
• I haven't seen The Omega Man or I Am Legend, so I can't compare this to them, but I'm guessing it's better than the former but not as good as the latter. Unlike so many of these "horror" classics, the filmmakers had a genuinely interesting story to tell... but I don't know. I couldn't help but think the movie would have ben considerably better if they had upped the pace a bit. And I'm not even some punk kid short-attention-span-having MTV-watcher... I've voluntarily watched My Dinner with Andre in its entirety.
• Morgan listens to jazz while the vampires pound on his door at night. If you had vampires tryign to get into your house, what kind of music would you listen to? I think I might go with classic rock.
• Morgan sets an alarm clock to wake him up in the morning. I know he feels like killing vampires all day is his duty, but I honestly don't think I would bother to set an alarm if I were the last human on the planet. I'd sleep in every day! And eat Snickers bars for BREAKFAST!
• There's one scene in which Morgan watches some old home movies of his family going to the circus. Vincent Price starts laughing, and the laughter keeps going, becomes increasingly desperate, and finally breaks into sobs. That's some pretty good acting by Mr. Price there.
• In the flashback we see a newspaper with a lead story about the disease. There's also a headline that reads "CUT-PRICE POLARIS FORCE." What the heck does that mean?
• Morgan doesn't know why he's immune to the infection, but he has a theory: Years ago, in Panama, he was bitten by a bat. That bat must have had an early, weak strain of the germ, and it gave him immunity. If that's the best they could come up with, I think I would have preferred if they hadn't tried to explain it at all.
• This movie doesn't really have anything in common with Roger Corman's Last Woman on Earth. This one is about the miserable, tortured existence of a man who believes himself to be the only person alive to have maintained his humanity, and that one was about two dudes fighting over a chick. But fascinatingly, both films set their final scene in a church.
Letter grade for The Last Man on Earth: B-
Next film in the 50-movie set: Dementia 13. I hear it's better than Dementia 12, but not as good as Dementia 11.
See, Morgan's not the last man-like creature on Earth, he's just the last man who hasn't been infected by the nasty disease that turned everyone into a vampire. (They should've used that Airborne stuff!) I should note here that the vampires in this movie are a lot slower and more brainless than traditional movie vampires. In fact, they more closely resemble post-Night of the Living Dead zombies, which makes me wonder if the producers of that film had seen this one. I bet they had, and they were all like, "Hey, let's make us a movie about some creepy folks like that! Only we won't call 'em vampires, and we won't have Vincent Price killin' 'em! It'll be fun! Woo-hoo!" That's probably exactly what they said.
Anyway. There's a lot of scenes of Morgan killing things, dumping bodies, being sad. There's also an extended flashback which starts with his daughter's birthday party (Yaaay!) and ends with his wife and daughter both getting infected with the disease (Booo!). And then he finds a dog, and he's really happy that he's going to have a pet, but then the dog is infected too, so he has to kill it.
Perhaps you've concluded by now that this is not a happy movie.
So, one day Morgan is outside when he sees a broad walking around in lady daylight. I mean, he sees a lady walking around in broad daylight. Could it be? Is she really another normal human? Well, yes and no. The lady is one of a whole herd of people who have been infected, but have created a vaccine to keep the vampirism at bay. They know all about Morgan and his vampire-hunting hobby; in fact you might almost say he's a Legend. In fact, if he were to say it, he might almost say, "I Am a Legend." But under no circumstances would he say, "I Am Legend."
The thing about these non-vampire people, though, is that they're pretty mad at Morgan because he's accidentally been killing some of them under the mistaken impression that they're infected. Whoops. Sorry for killing your friends and dumping their bodies in a giant fire pit, guys. We cool?
No, they're not cool, and now Morgan finds himself running for his life from his fellow humans, who run a lot faster than the vampires, and also have weapons, and better hair.
Is It Scary?
It's certainly unsettling. The flashback was pretty tense, as Morgan and his wife watched their daughter degenerate into one of the infected. Too bad about the casting, though. The daughter under-acted and the wife over-acted... between the two of them they made one good actress.
Lessons I Learned
- Plumbing and electricity will still work three years after the vast majority of humans have been wiped out.
- Similarly, garlic will stay fresh for at least three years.
- Vincent Price makes for a surprisingly sympathetic hero.
- Morgan, in voiceover: "There was a time when I shopped for a car. Now I'm looking for a hearse. This station wagon will have to do." [I can't quite explain why I found that line amusing, but I did.]
Most of the people in the world. But not as many as in Last Woman on Earth.
Comments
• I haven't seen The Omega Man or I Am Legend, so I can't compare this to them, but I'm guessing it's better than the former but not as good as the latter. Unlike so many of these "horror" classics, the filmmakers had a genuinely interesting story to tell... but I don't know. I couldn't help but think the movie would have ben considerably better if they had upped the pace a bit. And I'm not even some punk kid short-attention-span-having MTV-watcher... I've voluntarily watched My Dinner with Andre in its entirety.
• Morgan listens to jazz while the vampires pound on his door at night. If you had vampires tryign to get into your house, what kind of music would you listen to? I think I might go with classic rock.
• Morgan sets an alarm clock to wake him up in the morning. I know he feels like killing vampires all day is his duty, but I honestly don't think I would bother to set an alarm if I were the last human on the planet. I'd sleep in every day! And eat Snickers bars for BREAKFAST!
• There's one scene in which Morgan watches some old home movies of his family going to the circus. Vincent Price starts laughing, and the laughter keeps going, becomes increasingly desperate, and finally breaks into sobs. That's some pretty good acting by Mr. Price there.
• In the flashback we see a newspaper with a lead story about the disease. There's also a headline that reads "CUT-PRICE POLARIS FORCE." What the heck does that mean?
• Morgan doesn't know why he's immune to the infection, but he has a theory: Years ago, in Panama, he was bitten by a bat. That bat must have had an early, weak strain of the germ, and it gave him immunity. If that's the best they could come up with, I think I would have preferred if they hadn't tried to explain it at all.
• This movie doesn't really have anything in common with Roger Corman's Last Woman on Earth. This one is about the miserable, tortured existence of a man who believes himself to be the only person alive to have maintained his humanity, and that one was about two dudes fighting over a chick. But fascinatingly, both films set their final scene in a church.
Letter grade for The Last Man on Earth: B-
Next film in the 50-movie set: Dementia 13. I hear it's better than Dementia 12, but not as good as Dementia 11.
Comments
You should read the book dude. There are a few differences between the book and the film. Especially at the end. In the book the scene where the dog dies is heart breaking. You read it and feel as if you have been slapped in the face.
The guy isn't called Morgan in the book, he is called Robert Neville. Don't know why they changed the name, but he grew his own garlic in the greenhouse. I agree it does seem a little lame to explain it all by saying he was bit by a bat, but that part is true to the book and in the book they guy is quite the scientist so it does not seem so weird.
Never seen The Omega Man or the version with Will Smith, but the next time that I see either in HMV I might just say "I gotta get me one of these!"
I might get around to reading the book one of these days, though I'm probably more likely to see the Will Smith and Charlton Heston movies first.
So what did you think of Last Woman on Earth?
Oh, and I notice you have some clips on Vincent Price on the Muppet Show on your site... As a Muppet fan (and co-runner of fansite ToughPigs.com), I know that episode well.
I don't know if you realize it, but when Roger Corman shot the film he did it back-to-back with two other films: Creature from the Haunted Sea and Battle of Blood Island. I have never seen that last one, but I quite enjoyed Creature from the Haunted Sea. collectively the three films are know as the Peurto Rico Trilogy.
Although now that I think about it, I wonder if it's in the public domain and available for free online like the others.
As for Night of the Living Dead, I've never heard anyone involved with that movie acknowledge The Last Man on Earth as an influence, but George Romero (Night of the Living Dead director and co-writer) has said many times that he ripped off the book I Am Legend when coming up with the story. Those are his words, not mine. Personally I think Night of the Living Dead is different enough to not really qualify as a rip-off.
As for what I think of The Last Man on Earth, it's certainly nowhere near as good as the book, but I think it's underrated and a pretty entertaining flick. It's probably the best acting Vincent Price has ever done, and he's just such a likable guy that even if he did a terrible job, you'd still enjoy watching him.
It's not really all that scary, but some parts of it are especially creepy. My favorite scene is right before Morgan's wife shows up at his door, and he, along with the viewer, is trying to figure out what the hell that creepy whispering is. "Let meeeee in. Let meeeee in." I haven't seen The Omega Man (which, by all accounts, is nothing like the book), but The Last Man on Earth is much better than the Will Smith movie (which, by all accounts, and which I can confirm, is nothing like the book).
The Last Man on Earth has got its flaws and it could certainly be a lot better, but I think it's a good one. I'd give it a B if I had to rate it.
Vincent Price is all right in my book.
I Am Leonard would have been a much better title.
http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Classics-MoviePack-Randolph-Scott/dp/B0014CCPP6
Still love reading these posts while watching these movies 3 years later btw :)