I Am The First Last Man on Earth (1964)
Andor Bodzas
Post-apocalyptic movies have become trendy again; if we look at the last few years’ harvest, we’ll see that pretty much all of them were a hit. The 28 films, [28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2008)]; The Road with Viggio Mortensen; Terminator Salvation, with which the film series now holds the title quadrology; Children of Men; Book of Eli; I am Legend; and so on. And these are only the recent films.
The reason I mentioned I am Legend last is because it gives me a chance to travel through time in the history of post-apocalyptic films. Richard Matheson’s I am Legend has been adapted into motion pictures a number of times. In 2007 I am Legend with Will Smith, The Omega Man in 1971, and finally the first version with Vincent Price titled The Last Man on Earth in 1964.
Vincent Price – who by the by lent his voice in a radio adaptation to one of the most resilient heroes in film history: Simon Templar, the Saint – plays Dr. Robert Morgan, the protagonist of the film, the last living man who alone inherited the world. But he isn’t really alone. The film starts in medias res; three years after the world ended we see an empty, dead city. Dead bodies lying everywhere. Morgan awakens in his apartment, getting ready to do his mundane daily chores, sharpen stakes, have breakfast and, more importantly, replenish his supplies of garlic and mirrors since the dead who can’t stay dead can’t bear these things. Then, in a flashback, we see how the whole thing began and get to know Morgan a little better.
Obviously, the three films can only be compared to one another in a sense of how they convey the feeling of a post-apocalyptic milieu. To be honest, I haven’t had the pleasure of reading the book, but sometimes it is more of a blessing then a curse since 9 out of 10 film adaptations let you down. Probably that is the reason why the author used the pen name Logan Swanson when he wrote the screenplay. Luckily, I have no such problem. Out of the three films obviously I am Legend with Will Smith is the most advanced: with fancy film tricks and a motivation of a couple of million dollars, he plays the slowly going crazy doctor very well. It is the most entertaining of them all. But being black and white The Last Man on Earth has a huge advantage over the others; it gives it weight somehow. Vincent Price, though the hero of the story, is still an ordinary man. When I saw the scene where he chased down a woman, in my opinion he was the only person who did run like a man; I mean, he didn’t run as if the scene had fifty outtakes where he didn’t look masculine enough and whatnot. If we look at these days’ films we see them running in slow motion and digital effects all over the film. Back in the day, films looked more real with less effort. Just look at Price’s posture in the film, the guy who bends over a microscope all day, and his appearance. Normality oozes from him. The idea of the film is similar that of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but this film doesn’t seem clumsy to me. With limited resources this was the best they could do, and I think they did pretty good. Though some might say Price’s voiceovers are just patches on the holes of the plot, actually they add to the feeling of loneliness in the film.
While watching Charlton Heston’s The Omega Man I couldn’t stop thinking about Ben Hur, and that sort of dulled the movie for me. In it they showed some blood but it looked clumsy, some strange light red liquid, what the … either show blood as if it was blood or don’t show it at all. In zombie / vampire / alien flicks these days, where gore is more important than the plot, I understand that the perception of blood needs to be real, but in our cases blood would only be an added bonus. In the Price version it doesn’t even appear because it isn’t necessary; in Heston’s it is carried out poorly; Smith’s version is fine but they had like 50 years to learn about that now, didn’t they?
For those who don’t like only the mainstream films and are interested a little in the history of stories I recommend watching The Last Man on Earth. Even in the ‘60s with a good idea good films were made, and they didn’t need CGI to keep the viewers’ attention. And if you don’t think it is a horror film, watch the scene where Morgan’s wife asks him to open the door at 3 am in the morning.
(2012)