The Last Man on Earth (1964): watch the full film free, legally

Robert Morgan's daily siege

Set in 1968, The Last Man on Earth is a post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film about Dr. Robert Morgan, apparently the only uninfected survivor of a plague. The disease has transformed everyone else into undead, vampiric creatures. They cannot stand sunlight, fear mirrors and are repelled by garlic. They are weak and unintelligent, yet Morgan knows they would kill him if they could.

His life follows a severe routine. Each morning, he marks another day on his calendar, takes his weapons and hunts vampires. He kills as many as he can, then burns their bodies to stop them returning. At night, he locks himself in his house while the creatures gather outside.

Flashbacks explain how he came to be alone. In December 1965, before the public knew the dead would return to life, Morgan's wife Virginia and daughter Kathy succumbed to the plague. Kathy's body went to a public burn pit, but Morgan secretly buried Virginia. When she later returned and attacked him, he learned that plague victims had to be killed with a wooden stake. He believes he is immune because an infected vampire bat bit him while he was stationed in Panama, possibly giving him a diluted form of the bacteria.

A dog and a stranger named Ruth

A dog in the neighbourhood briefly breaks Morgan's isolation. He chases it, desperate for company, but cannot catch it. Later, the wounded animal comes to his doorstep. Morgan takes it inside and treats its wounds, hoping for companionship after three years alone. That hope ends when he finds that the dog is infected. He impales it with a wooden stake and buries it.

Morgan next sees a woman in the distance. Ruth runs from him in fear, but he persuades her to enter his home. He soon doubts her account. Garlic makes her ill, although she says she has a weak stomach. His suspicions deepen when he discovers her trying to inject herself with a combination of blood and vaccine.

Ruth admits that she is infected and belongs to a treated group. The medicine lets infected people function normally while it remains in their blood, but the disease takes over again when it wears off. Sent to spy on Morgan, Ruth explains that her people plan to rebuild society by destroying the remaining humans. Many of the vampires Morgan killed, she says, were still alive. She urges him to flee.

Matheson's novel reaches Rome

Directed by Sidney Salkow and Ubaldo Ragona, The Last Man on Earth stars Vincent Price and Franca Bettoia. Robert L. Lippert produced the 1964 film, which adapts Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend. It was the first of three adaptations of the book, followed by The Omega Man in 1971 and I Am Legend in 2007. Matheson wrote part of the screenplay, but was dissatisfied with the result and was credited as Logan Swanson.

Producer Anthony Hinds had purchased the novel's rights for Hammer Film Productions. Matheson wrote a script, and Hammer announced the project in 1958. British censors would not allow the film to be produced, so Hinds sold the script to Lippert. Lippert initially told Matheson that Fritz Lang would direct, an idea Matheson called “wonderful.” Salkow was eventually chosen. Matheson responded, “Well, there's a bit of a drop.”

The film was a United States and Italy co-production. American International Pictures released it in the United States on May 6, 1964, while a dubbed version was released in Rome that year.

Black-and-white production in Rome

The film was shot in black and white in Italy to save money, with a predominantly Italian cast and crew. Price and child actress Christi Courtland were the only Americans in the cast. The production was filmed MOS, without sync sound, as was typical for Italian films of the period. Italian performers recited English dialogue phonetically, then English-speaking actors dubbed them. Carolyn De Fonseca dubbed Bettoia.

Much of the filming used the futuristic architecture of Rome's EUR district. Interior scenes were made on sets at the Titanus studios. Matheson later called this the most faithful adaptation of his novel, although he also described the result as “inept.” In 2024, Waxwork Records released the soundtrack on coloured vinyl in special packaging featuring artwork by Graham Humphreys.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “The Last Man on Earth (1964 film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.