The Last Man On Earth
1964
Based On The Book: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Re-made as The Omega Man (1971)
Re-made as I Am Legend (2007)
Director: Ubaldo Ragona/Sidney Salkow
Cast Includes: Vincent Price, Franca Bettoja, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart
The Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction:
Based on Robert Matheson's classic horror novel I Am Legend (as was the weaker The Omega Man in 1971), director Ubaldo Ragona (Italian version) and Sidney Salkow's (US version) atmospheric shocker marks one of the few times in his macabre movie career that Vincent Price was pitted against a traditional "monster" - in this instance people infected with a mysterious plague that has turned them into vampires. Robert Morgan (Price) is appareatly the only living creature immune to the disease, and spends his entire existance rebuffing and killing the undead. But some of the bloodsuckers have found a way of chemically surviving without losing their humanity, and they must erase Morgan, who can't differentiate between the two species. Shot on stark Rome locations (standing in for Los Angeles), Price delivers one of his more restrained performances in this engrossing, superior slice of futuristic horror.
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updated february 2010