The Omega Man (1971)

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

John William Corrington (screenplay) and
Joyce Hooper Corrington (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Pray for the last man alive. Because he's not alone.

Plot:

Robert Neville, a doctor, due to an experimental vaccine, is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons...

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Flashback | Albino | Vaccine | Military Officer

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Robert Neville
Anthony Zerbe	...	Jonathan Matthias
Rosalind Cash	...	Lisa
Paul Koslo	...	Dutch
Eric Laneuville	...	Richie
Lincoln Kilpatrick	...	Zachary
Jill Giraldi	...	Little Girl
Anna Aries	...	Woman in Cemetery Crypt
Brian Tochi	...	Tommy
DeVeren Bookwalter	...	Family Member
John Dierkes	...	Family Member
Monika Henreid	...	Family Member
Linda Redfearn	...	Family Member
Forrest Wood	...	Family Member

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Canada:14A | USA:PG | Sweden:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1971) | UK:PG | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

British studio Hammer Films had previously contemplated a film adaptation of Richard Matheson's book under the title of "The Night Creatures", written by Matheson himself. The project was ultimately deemed too graphic, floundered and eventually died.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one of the early flashback news sequences, the reporter warning people to stay in their homes concludes with 'CONELRAD channel' - CONELRAD was an acronym for Control of Electromagnetic Radiation developed by the FCC during the Cold War, and was abandoned in August of 1963, replaced by the Emergency Broadcast System in the same month. Any 1970s alert would have used the EBS, not CONELRAD.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[the last man on earth wrecks his car]
Robert Neville: There's never a cop around when you need one.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

'Round Midnight

Now playing: "The Night Creatures"

One of these days soon we will see another remake of Richard Matheson's seminal Horror novella. If we do, I hope the marquee will read: "I Am Legend." This should be done for no other reason than to make it easier for Sci-Fi nerds to argue and champion their personal favorite. But I have this feeling the producers will take the easy way out.

Boris Sagal, the veteran television director, who died under the most grisly of circumstances--he walked into a helicopter blade--helms a brilliant adaptation of the book. Sure, they changed the vampires into psychotic albinos. And they also injected a heavy dose of the Seventies counter-culture. But the essential themes resist the tampering by the new screenwriters and remain solid story chestnuts. No one handles a weapon with such verve as Mr. Heston. He fires at random and generally hits something. Always a good approach in this type of movie. I enjoy his conversations with Caesar's bust in his "Honky paradise". The sculptures and paintings on the walls are actual reproductions of the immortals they represent. Also, check out the art work on the back of "Dutch's" jacket. It packs a wallop. Ron Grainer's score is legendary and has a elegiac feel punctuated by strange sounds from obscure instruments. The action scenes rival the best. Catch Heston's despair and loneliness when he jogs by a large office building along side a reflecting pool. Every scene is chock full of memorable lines and quirky bits of business. The bodies of the dead pop up randomly with a wild note on the soundtrack. There is a brief nude scene that for once fits into the plot. A standing ovation is in order for anyone left alive.