The Last Woman on Earth
(Horror Classics 50-Movie DVD Collection
Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(1960)
review by Catwalk

Ev (Jones-Moreland) and Harold (Carbone) go to Puerto Rico for a vacation of sorts.  Harold is heading away from his indictment over a real estate scandal, and is relying on help from his lawyer, Martin (Towne) for help.  Harold and Ev barely have a marriage, wherein she drinks herself numb and he gambles and hardly stays within the law.

Soon, Ev confesses her loneliness to Martin, opening the possibility for a scandal.  Harold tries to bluff his way out of hurting her again, but like the lousy gambler he is, he falls flat.  The three go on a fishing trip, and are under the sea diving when all hell breaks loose above.  They only survive the lack of oxygen because they’re wearing their diving masks.

Harold and Martin soon grow distant and angered as Ev seeks the affections of Martin as an escape from Harold’s dominance.  Martin challenges the elder man, knowing that the legality of their marriage is null and void in a world where only three people are alive.  Ev plays them both for the aspects she enjoys the most.

Ev runs away with her new love, Martin.  Soon, the enraged Harold comes after them, leading to a chase and a climactic twist worth the wait.  Ev is left confronting the choices she’s made, and the combat of the past she seeks to escape, and the unknown future ahead.

Betsy Jones-Moreland is a beauty with depth in the role, a blonde starlet who bounces from sensitive to sexy as the character demands.  Carbone channels an aggressive Dean Martin in his dominant role, unable to relinquish control.  Towne’s Martin is a lonely man who’s been trapped by work and suddenly freed, falling into the arms of the seductive Ev with no ability or willingness to stop himself.

Corman uses a minimalist approach at times, making the closest human interaction and desperation appear on a city scale by simply expanding a shot.  He draws out several views of more shocking footage, and stark contrast.  Ronald Stein provides the musical backdrop for the desperate setting, and the growing tension of the three very different personalities.

The film features an early scene of cock-on-cock action, with Harold betting on the winning rooster.  (Aside from getting to write cock-on-cock action in a movie NOT directed by David DeCoteau, that was meant as a warning for any viewers not into animal cruelty.)

Corman filmed “Last Woman on Earth” while on location in Puerto Rico filming “Battle of Blood Island”.  Towne hadn’t finished the screenplay at the time of shooting.  The movie is part of the Horror Classics 50-movie DVD Collection.

* Note: Cover art shown is from the Alpha Video Region 1 NTSC DVD of this film.