Mar. 8, 1964 - Opening today is “The Last Man on Earth,” a science fiction horror film based on the 1954 novel “I Am Legend,” by Richard Matheson. The film, directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow, stars Vincent Price and Franca Bettoia.
In the story, it is 1968, and Dr. Robert Morgan (Price) 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 they are weak and stupid.
Every day, Morgan carries out the same routine: he wakes up, marks another day on the calendar, gathers his weapons, and then goes hunting for vampires, killing as many as he can and then burning the bodies to prevent them from coming back. At night, he locks himself inside his house.
To save money, the film was shot in Italy with a predominantly Italian cast and crew.
