The Last Man on Earth

The Last Man on Earth is the first adaptation of I Am Legend, starring Vincent Price as Robert Morgan, a scientist researching a cure for a disease that causes, for all intents and purposes, vampirism.
It's a grim movie. For the longest time, it's just Price as a voiceover, going through his daily ritual of dealing with the vampires- making stakes, gathering garlic, maintainence on his generator. But it's been three years since the plague hit and as the only person immune to the disease, he's beginning to fray a bit on the edges.
Ok, alot.
Because it's just him, the vampires, and his memories- his wife and daughter were both plague victims.
Into this angst comes Ruth. He encounters her in the daylight, explaining how he couldn't be one of them- conversely neither could she.
But she is- of a different strain than the more zombie-esque vampires who've been menacing Morgan through the movie so far.

Yesterday, I commented that I appreciated The Last Man on Earth more than the remake The Omega Man. Watching this re-enforced that opinion.
Price plays the protagonist with more depth, more tragedy- still mourning his family- rather than Heston's almost wish fulfillment portrayal- he begins the movie speeding through downtown LA in a red convertible shooting things.
The vampires in TLMoE are more vampireish rather than the hippie albino cultists of TOM.
The stark black and white of TLMoE gives it a much more end of the world atmosphere rather than the Technicolor wonder of TOM.
But that's just me.
Your mileage may vary.

Oh, and in the words of Columbo- one more thing:

It's futile to wonder "What if...?" but I wonder what this film would have been like had Hammer Studios been allowed to make their version. The script was apparently too gruesome for the film board- Hammer never even started production, even though they'd scheduled Val Guest to direct.
Hammer sold the rights and the rest is history.
Here, watch:

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