The Last Man on Earth is a 1964 science fiction horror film based on the Richard Matheson 1954 novel I Am Legend. The film was directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow, and stars Vincent Price.


In the year 1968, every day is the same for Dr. Robert Morgan (Price): he wakes up, gathers his weapons and then goes hunting for vampires. Morgan lives in a world where everyone else has been infected by a plague that has turned them into undead, vampiric creatures that cannot stand sunlight, fear mirrors, and are repelled by garlic. They would kill Morgan if they could, but fortunately, they are weak and unintelligent. At night, Morgan locks himself inside his house; during the day, he kills as many vampires as he can, burning the bodies.


A flashback sequence explains that, three years before, Morgan's wife and daughter had succumbed to the plague, before it was widely known by the public that the dead would return to life. Instead of taking his wife to the same public burn pit used to dispose of his daughter's corpse, Morgan buried her without the knowledge of the authorities. When his wife returned to his home and attacked him, Morgan became aware of the need to kill the plague victims with a wooden stake. Morgan hypothesizes that he is immune to the bacteria because he was bitten by an infected vampire bat when he was stationed in Panama, which introduced a diluted form of the plague into his blood.


One day, a dog appears in the neighborhood. Desperate for companionship, Morgan chases after the dog but does not catch it. Some time later, the dog appears, wounded, at Morgan's doorstep. He takes the dog into his home and treats its wounds, looking forward to having company for the first time in three years. He quickly discovers, however, that it too has become infected with the plague. Morgan is later seen burying the dog, which he has impaled with a wooden stake.


While out on his daily rounds, Morgan spots a woman in the distance. The woman, Ruth, is terrified of Morgan at first sight, and runs from him. Morgan convinces her to return to his home, but is suspicious of her true nature. Ruth becomes ill when Morgan waves garlic in her face, but claims that she has a weak stomach.


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Tags: Vincent Price, cinema, film, horror, movies, plague, sci fi, vampires, zombies

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Overlooked classic. Maybe because it was an Italian production. Wasn't the later adaptation "The Omega Man" with Heston? Or was there some low budget number before that?

Well, this wasn't available on VHS or DVD for a long time, if I am not mistaken. Yes, Omega Man came next, followed by I Am Legend

This was a great movie, I had my kids watch it and they really enjoyed it to my surprise.  I have not watched the Omega Man so can not compare, I am legend was really good to watch.  The book was a great read, i was surprosed to learn from the original movie that it was about vampires.  I did not pick up on the not so subtle clues from I am legend I guess.

I'ts been a while since I've seen I Am Legend, and I've only seen it once, but didn't they play up the vampire aspect of it all, more so than this version posted above? Seems to me they would only come out at night and stay in the shadows during the day. Didn't he carry around flashlights and stuff like that because of it?

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