AKA
VENTO DI MONTAGNA

Country
ITALY
U.S.A.

Production Companies
LA REGINA CIN.CA

Distributors
REGIONAL

Year
1964

Genre
HORROR/SCIENCE FICTION

Director
RAGONA, UBALDO

Cast
BETTOJA, FRANCA
COREVI, ANTONIO
COURTLAND, CHRISTI
DANIELI, EMMA
DE ROSSI, ROLANDO
MATTEI, GIUSEPPE
PRICE, VINCENT
RHAO, UMBERTO
RIBOTTA, ETTORE
ROSSI STUART, GIACOMO
SALVATORE, ENRICO

Story based on

Screenwriter
MENOTTI, FURIO M.
RAGONA, UBALDO

Cinematographer
DELLI COLLI, FRANCO

Art director/Production designer
GIOVANNINI, GIORGIO

Film editor
SILVI, FRANCA

Original music by
SATWELL, PAUL
SHEFTER, BERT

Color
B/N

Rated
14

Plot synopsis
In a post-epidemic nightmare world, scientist Robert Morgan ( Vincent Price ) is the only man immune to the plague which has transformed the entire population of the Earth into vampire-like creatures. He becomes the monster slayer that vampire-society fears. Curing one of them, Ruth ( Franca Bettoja ), with a transfusion of his blood gives him hope for the future. It is a short future, however, since the other vampires quickly find and kill him. This dark tale, based on Richard Matheson's even darker novel "I Am Legend," was later remade as The Omega Man with Charlton Heston in the Vincent Price role. — Lucinda Ramsey ( www.allmovie.com )

Notes
SHOOTED BETWEEN THE EUR'S PALACES IN ROME

Reviews
Most people wouldn't expect breathtaking special effects or nonstop, nail-biting action in this low-budget 1960s horror film. They would be right, of course. Indeed, The Last Man on Earth has even less suspense than some people might expect; this is primarily because the zombie-like vampires are so slow-moving, dimwitted, and weak that they pose little threat to Robert Morgan. They're much less threatening than the zombies in Night of the Living Dead, for example, although there is one advantage to their general incompetence as monsters: at least you can believe that Morgan could survive for so long. But the movie doesn't seem to be designed primarily for jump-out-of-your-seat scares anyway; instead, the filmmakers appear to have put more effort into cultivating a pervasive mood of loneliness and despair. Morgan is the ultimate alienated man, and we see how his sense of isolation and numbing daily routine ( which includes a trip to town to kill more vampires in their sleep ) have gradually stripped away his humanity. Vincent Price carries the film with a compelling performance that involves some scenery chewing, although not quite as much as some of his other horror roles. The ending manages to be both heavy-handed and muddled — despite some rather unsubtle symbolism, it's unclear if we're supposed to consider Morgan a tragic fall guy, self-made monster, or Christ figure — but it's still a fairly interesting movie that might appeal to fans of the original Twilight Zone television series ( which, of course, could also be unsubtle at times ). You may wish that the fight scenes were more exciting ( they are included in the movie, after all ), but at least the film offers something else to hold your interest. — Todd Kristel ( www.allmovie.com )

Bibliography
Author / Online source: CINEMATOGRAFO.IT
Edition year: 2004
Type: WEB SITE
Title / web address: http://www.cinematografo.it

Author / Online source: ALLMOVIE.COM
Edition year: 2005
Type: WEB SITE
Title / web address: http://www.allmovie.com