The Last Man on Earth (1964)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Ubaldo Ragona

Writers:

Richard Matheson (novel) and
William F. Leicester (writer)

Release Date:

8 March 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Drama

Tagline:

By night they leave their graves, crawling, shambling, through empty streets, whimpering, pleading, begging for his blood!

Plot:

Dr. Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the only survivor of a devastating world-wide plague due to a mysterious...

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Night | Survivor | Charnel Pit | Transfusion

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Dr. Robert Morgan
Franca Bettoia	...	Ruth Collins
Emma Danieli	...	Virginia Morgan
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart	...	Ben Cortman
Umberto Raho	...	Dr. Mercer
Christi Courtland	...	Kathy Morgan
Antonio Corevi	...	Governor (as Tony Corevi)
Ettore Ribotta	...	TV Reporter (as Hector Ribotta)
Rolando De Rossi

Also Known As:

L'ultimo uomo della terra (Italy) (dubbed version)
Naked Terror
Night People
The Night Creatures
Vento di morte
Wind of Death
Je suis une légende (France) [fr]
O teleftaios anthropos sti Gi (Greece) (DVD title) [el]

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (2007) | UK:X (1966) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

E.U.R., Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Associated Producers (API)

Trivia:

Richard Matheson felt Vincent Price was miscast as Robert Morgan.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Morgan is burying the dead dog, his parked car can be seen in the background. In some shots, the doors are left open, in others the doors are closed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Robert Morgan: Another day to live through. Better get started.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silent Hill (2006)

Vincent Price is Legend!!

I'm not sure why this film is as underrated as it is. This is an amazing, depressing and in many ways brilliant film based on the Richard Matheson classic novel "I Am Legend". Vincent Price effectively conveys the terror and despair of being the last living man on an Earth that is now overrun with vampires and/or zombies. The depiction of Price's day to day bleak existence is a moving and powerful thing to behold and the continual menace of the hordes of zombies is creepy in the same way as was later depicted in "Night of the Living Dead". In fact, as noted by others here, one can not watch the scenes where the zombies lay siege to Price's boarded up house and attack his car without recognizing how close these scenes would later be copied by George Romero in his classic zombie films. If you are a fan of horror film history or just looking for a classic and unique film with an interesting story, track down this lost gem.