The Last Woman on Earth (1960)

Director: Roger Corman

Writer: Robert Towne

Composer: Ronald Stein

Starring: Betsy Jones-Moreland, Antony Carbone, Robert Towne

More info: IMDb

Tagline: They fought for the Ultimate Prize!

Plot: Ev, along with her husband, Harold, and their lawyer friend Martin, are swimming while on vacation in Puerto Rico. When they resurface, they gradually conclude that an unexplained, temporary interruption of oxygen has killed everyone on the island... maybe even the world!

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Roger Corman made some good films but he also made his fair share of stinkers.  This one was shot on the cheap and probably on the double quick.  He was good at that.  The movie poster over sells the picture.  The film itself is nowhere near as sexy and dangerous as the poster lets on.  There's a little action at the end by way of the two men battling it out for Evelyn but that's the extent of that.  The low budget trappings don't help the film but the outdoor shooting locations elevate it and the pacing is good.  The actors do as well as expected under the circumstances.  It's not as polished as I'd like it but then this is a Corman quickie so you should go in with a certain level of expectation.  Robert "CHINATOWN (1974) Towne wrote and starred in this.  He's the weakest of the three actors but then acting wasn't his bag and Corman reportedly cast him to save money because he needed Towne, the writer, on set.  Rumor has it the script wasn't finished when shooting began.  The story is pretty good but it's missing any sense of real gloom and doom once they realize they're probably not in any danger from anyone or anything but themselves.  I did like the non-conventional outcome.  Overall, while it's not a snoozefest, it's not engaging but it does offer a little bit of fun.  I would've probably scored it better but, since this is in the public domain, I couldn't find a good color print, much less a widescreen print.  I watched it on an Alpha DVD and the print was utterly horrible.  It was only now when looking on YouTube that I found a better one which is available below.  Corman fans and B-movie fans will be more forgiving of the film than anyone else.