The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Director: Ubaldo Ragona
Starring: Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli

Synopsis:
A deadly plague has wiped out most of humanity and left the rest as ravening vampires. Dr. Robert Morgan is the one person who was immune to the plague. By night he barricades himself in his house to ward off attacks by the infected and by day he hunts the vampires in the hopes of exterminating the menace once and for all.

Impressions:
Having seen the more recent and misguided adaptation of I Am Legend and about half of The Omega Man, I was eager to see the version many fans of the original story call the best. To be perfectly blunt, this is a low-budget Italian B movie where the vampires act more like Romero-esque shambling zombies (thought this film predates Night of the Living Dead and some argue Romero essentially copied this movie to make his own iconic zombies) and the poorly dubbed Italians really don't seem to be bringing their A game. What sells this movie, however, is Vincent Price. His performance carries the movie. That may not be enough for everyone, but it is for me. For anyone who's read the books and/or seen the other adaptations, you might want to give this one a whirl and compare notes. Otherwise there may not be enough to compel you to watch it.

Rating:
50/50 (though personally I'd give it a "Watch It" just based on Price's performance)