soulexpress Roger Corman's end-of-the-world scenario (set in Puerto Rico) begins with the main character, Harold Gern (Anthony Carbone), betting on a cock fight. His wife Evelyn (Betsy Jones Moreland) and their attorney Martin Joyce (Edward Wain) are present as well, but find the whole thing revolting. Since Corman filmed an actual cock fight instead of simulating one, I fully agree.The three go SCUBA diving, only to resurface and find everyone else on the island dead of asphyxiation. They immediately conclude that while they were underwater, the Earth's oxygen supply temporarily disappeared, killing off the entire human race. That's right, folks. It never occurs to Harold, Evelyn, or Martin that any of the planet's three billion people might still be alive. So they move to a house on a remote part of the island, where they teach themselves basic survival skills. Things go relatively well until it becomes obvious that Ev and Martin are attracted to each other.Carbone plays Harold as a Trump-like real-estate magnate who doesn't care about the rules and will do anything it takes to come out on top. He delivers his lines in a low-key but menacing manner that says, "Don't even think about messing with me." Martin is Yang to Harold's Yin, a starry-eyed young man with no interest in climbing the ladder of success and who is more concerned about human welfare. Wain portrays the character as highly emotional and given to impulsiveness. Finally, Betsy Jones Moreland is gorgeous to look at, but her character is severely underdeveloped. Her Evelyn comes across as more of a plot device than a flesh-and-blood human being. But that was the screenplay's fault, not the actress'. The stars deliver competent performances. That's important as the film plays out mainly through dialogue, not all of which works. Martin, for example, came out with this line: "There's something in the air if you breathe it."To the movie's detriment, the sexual tension that is supposed to permeate each frame is very much undercooked. One example is a scene in which Harold wants to make love but Evelyn does not. He gets on top of her and intones, "You're my wife." The scene ends there, strongly implying spousal rape. Though it would have been highly unpleasant to watch, allowing the scene to continue might have made the film stronger. Of course, that couldn't have happened in 1960. It does, however, make me wonder how the scene would have played out a decade later, when sexual mores had loosened. (I'm thinking of the infamous "butter" scene from LAST TANGO IN Paris.)The script also makes attempts at Big Statements. For example, it takes a swipe at religion when, in a church, Martin tells Harold, "There are no more churches, no more gods." And once the men have fought to the death, the victor sadly proclaims, "I killed him. Will we ever learn?" Can't the human race just end without half-baked attempts at philosophy?Despite its flaws, this is one of the more palatable Corman vehicles. It's no ON THE BEACH, but it held my interest and (with a few exceptions) didn't make me angry. That's much more than I can say for a lot of Corman's films.Item: In a spirit true to this era, when Evelyn has trouble breathing, Harold gives her a cigarette.Item: A radio station keeps playing the same song. However, broadcast turntables do not have an "eject" feature that returns the needle to the start of a record.Item: As the three of them walk through the city, they spot a dead child in the street. The "child" is clearly a doll.Item: A fight breaks out between Harold and Martin while they're fishing in a boat. They end up in the water, which is barely at chest level. Why take a boat if you're only going ten feet from shore?Item: The vanishing and reappearance of the planet's oxygen supply is never explained.

Scott LeBrun "Last Woman on Earth" shows what happens as a romantic triangle plays out during an "end of the world" type of story. Harold Gern (Antony Carbone) is a shady banker enjoying the sights and sounds of Puerto Rico. Tagging along are his sexy young wife Evelyn (Betsy Jones- Moreland) and his loyal attorney Martin Joyce (future Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne, acting under the pseudonym Edward Wain). After a scuba diving excursion, they come out of the sea to find that some mysterious disaster has eliminated almost every living thing in sight. Harold is given to macho "this is how it's gonna be" proclamations, while Martin, who realizes that he's falling for Evelyn, acts as a voice of reason.Towne also wrote the screenplay for this one, his first. Since he worked slowly (according to producer & director Roger Corman), his script was unfinished by the time of filming. So, in order to ensure that the screenwriter could be on set regularly, Corman convinced Towne to co-star in the film. Corman had come to Puerto Rico partly to take in the beauty of the surroundings, but largely due to "certain tax laws". By the time he and his crew left the country, they had not one film under their belt, but three: this one, "Creature from the Haunted Sea" (a remake of "Naked Paradise"), and "Battle of Blood Island".A great film this is not, but it's a passably engrossing one, thanks to some wonderful atmosphere (Corman actually ponied up the dough to shoot it in color) and Townes' somewhat philosophical tale. There is some decent dialogue, good music by Ronald Stein, and effective cinematography by Jacques R. Marquette. The three cast members are reasonably good. Towne fares well enough, despite not being a professional actor.The ending is abrupt, and may not be to all viewers' satisfaction. Still, Corman and Towne deserve some credit for tackling the theme of the hostility and violence ingrained in mankind, on a rather meagre budget.Six out of 10.

Martin Bradley This Grade Z exploitation film was actually written by none other than Robert (Chinatown) Towne, (apparently while it was actually being shot), but it's the producer and director's name that is the clue to what's on offer for "The Last Woman on Earth" is a Roger Corman picture. Yes, it's a cheapie; we're not talking the Poe classics here but considering the budget or lack of it, and the bad acting, there is a bit of imagination on display.Towne also plays one of the two male leads, (under the pseudonym of Edward Wain), who together with married couple Anthony Carbone and Betsy Jones-Moreland are the sole survivors of a nuclear war, (the Bomb and the end of civilization as we know it were hot topics at the time). The film is a slight variation on the "I am Legend" theme and this one plays on the sexual tension between the characters making it more of a drama than a horror film. It's watchable but really not much more.

Uriah43 While vacationing in Puerto Rico "Harold Gern" (Antony Carbone), his wife "Evelyn Gern" (Betsy Jones-Moreland) and his lawyer "Martin Joyce" (Robert Towne) all decide to go scuba diving. While they are under water a strange phenomenon occurs which takes up all of the oxygen from the earth resulting in the death of all living animals. Fortunately, the oxygen in their tanks suffices until the atmosphere stabilizes. It's at this point that they realize that they are the only people remaining. Two men and one woman. At any rate, rather than spoil the movie by revealing what happens next I will just say that this wasn't a bad film for its time. The acting was adequate but nothing above and beyond that. And while I didn't especially care for the ending I still give the director (Roger Corman) credit for being able to put out a decent film in spite of the low budget allowed. Accordingly, I rate this movie as about average.