Movies - Last Woman on Earth

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	Movies - Last Woman on Earth

Last Woman on Earth is a U.S. movie of 1960 produced and directed by Roger Corman about an inexplicable incident during which all life on the surface of the earth is killed except for three human survivors. The screenplay was written by Robert Towne, and the music was composed and conducted by Ronald S. Stein. Last Woman on Earth is a typical B-movie.

Cast

Antony Carbone as Harold Gern
Betsy Jones Moreland as Evelyn Gern
Robert Towne (credited under his pseudonym Edward Wain) as Martin Joyce

Plot

Harold Gern, a successful businessman from New York who has been in a lot of legal trouble recently, is spending a holiday in Puerto Rico with his attractive wife Evelyn, whom he married "between trials". They are joined by Martin Joyce, Gern's friend and lawyer, who has come to discuss legal matters. Not in the mood to talk business, Gern invites him along on a boat trip during which all three try out some newly bought scuba diving equipment. When they resurface they realize to their astonishment that they are unable to breathe without using their oxygen tanks. They climb back into their boat and find Manuel, their servant, dead on board—asphyxiated.

Unable to start the engine, they row ashore. With 40 minutes worth of oxygen left they enter the jungle, where, due to the plants giving off oxygen, they can soon breathe normally again (and light a cigarette to calm down their nerves).

Gradually it dawns upon the three that they might be the only survivors in the area, maybe in the world. They briefly speculate on what has happened ("an act of God … or bigger and better bombs") but try to "keep that kind of talk to a minimum" and mainly concern themselves with becoming self-sufficient, for example by moving to a villa near the beach. The two men teach themselves how to fish—as only animals that live in the water have survived—but when they see insects again they realize that they must have survived inside their eggs. Accordingly, they feel that in the long run they will have to move North to a colder climate—to avoid an insect problem and also problems with food preservation and to increase their chances of meeting other survivors.

Very soon the Gerns and Martin Joyce can no longer cope with the triangular situation. Although they still keep up appearances—Evelyn is still wearing jewellery and Harold Gern a tie for their seafood dinners—Joyce points out to Gern that neither the latter's marriage certificate nor his money mean anything any more. Evelyn feels attracted to the lawyer, who eventually tells her husband what he really thinks of him ("The way you made your money stank. And furthermore, Harold, you stink."). After a short fistfight Joyce pretends to be leaving the couple but at the last moment Evelyn hops into the car, and the two lovers drive off. Harold Gern hotwires the other car and follows them. At the harbour another fight between the two men ensues during which Martin Joyce is fatally injured. The two survivors are left wondering where they will go or what they will do now.

Quotes

Evelyn: Why aren't you fishing?
Martin: I don't know. When you've seen one fish, you've seen them all.

Martin (on being asked where he has been): I had a date. A blind date, actually.

Harold (after killing Martin): I killed him. Will we never learn?

Edition

The movie is available on DVD from Elstree Hill Entertainment .

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Last Woman on Earth ]

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