The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Last Watch Date - May 29, 2023
Total Times Watched - Let's say three, but it could be more
Comments
Though I've never read the story this is based on (I Am Legend), I am somewhat familiar with the source. I do need to read it one of these days considering how short it is.. Anywho, it's been adapted a few times, including this one and another with Will Smith in the 2000s I think. I never saw it, but I'm sure it was meh.
I'm not convinced Vincent Price was a good lead for this particular movie. He plays the same character he normally does, though he also has a sort of frailty or unimposing nature to him that takes some of the edge off. Would you be afraid of Vincent Price? I doubt it. There aren't a ton of characters in this, though the others were fittingly melodramatic like an early-mid 60s movie would be. It's hard to believe this type of acting was encouraged at any point.
That aside, there's a bunch of narrating that goes on early in the movie that I kind of like. It's stupid, but I find it endearing. It gives a bit of exposition without going crazy. But then we have a flashback that is pure exposition and there goes the craziness. It's fine, whatever. The sound dubbing is horrendous though. I read on the wiki article that the actress who played Ruth was Italian and had her lines dubbed by an American woman. The lips definitely don't match up well, but neither do Price's. I don't know what their ambient sound mics were like at that point, but they must've been a real treat.
The story builds up some good tension before totally neutering the zombie-vampire-infected things. Once you see him going up against them and how pathetic they are, you start wondering how this guy spent three years in the cycle he's in and how he didn't find a better way of dealing with them. Tension comes back slightly with the introduction of Ruth, though it's right before the climactic ending.
There's supposed to be a moral message to this movie, so I guess it's kind of a fable. I definitely remember reading about zombie-vampires in Aesop's Fables. The ending is kind of funny though in the way it brings everything together. I'd like to say it was good but I'm not sure that's the word I'd use for it. It's weird.
Recommended?
All in all, it's not a bad way to kill 86 minutes. If you like Price, give it a shot. You might love it! But probably not.
