The Last Man on Earth – 1964
The Last Man on Earth is a movie that I always heard very good about. I never saw it until recently. I might add that I’m a huge Vincent Price fan but I have seen surprisingly few of his movies. Sure, I’ve seen a few but there are many classics that I never got around to. The Las Man on Earth is one of them. So, you can say that I made up for lost time – finally. I had a couple of revelations seeing this one. First of all, did Vincent Price always overplay his characters as much as he did in this one? I have no recollection of that. I won’t go as far as to say that I didn’t enjoy his performance but it made me think. But I haven’t seen a movie with Vincent Price in ages. Maybe I just didn’t notice it before?
The Story
The Last Man on Earth tells a story about you guessed it, The Last Man on Earth. This person, the person Vincent Price portrays has lived for several years in a world where everyone else has become a sick monster. I always thought it was a zombie film so it took me a bit by surprise when I realized that the monsters actually are vampires. Not that I see any of them sucking blood at any point or so. And, for that matter, it really does matter what the other creatures are. They’re something that Dr. Robert Morgan (Price) is not.
He stays alive by figuring out that they don’t like garlic, and that mirrors are a good means to keep them from breaking in. Each day he goes about the same business. He gathers some food, and some gasoline and takes care of a few of the vampires striking a stake through their hearts. Pretty classic stuff; garlic, a wooden stake, and mirrors. There is no Count with a cape that turns into a bat or anything like that. The story is kept pretty scientific. The disease came from somewhere and was later spread like a virus with the wind or something like that.
Morality
I like the story is pretty weak but there is a morality in it. If you are the last of your kind left in the world you might see everyone else as impostors. But on the other hand, if you are the last of your kind left in the world, others might see you as something dangerous. Especially if you go about and kill the ones that have already been turned. It’s all about the perspective of things. I didn’t think of it to begin with but at the end, it becomes very obvious. Almost too obvious actually.
The film is based on the novel I Am Legend so you might see some similarities between The Last Man on Earth and the flick with Will Smith in it. The latter holding on the the title of the novel. There are more versions of that same novel being put into film. I’m not sure how many but when researching a bit I found a few. The Omega Man starring Charlton Heaston is apparently one of them.
Overall I was pretty disappointed by the movie. I thought it would be more terrifying. I know that I would have been scared out of my wits if I were the only one letter alive in the entire world. A World filled with monsters. This guy doesn’t get very excited over anything. He’s just unconcerned, possibly too tired to care after all that time. I would have wanted some more emotion.
