The Last Man on Earth (1964)

The first filmed adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend (1954) is more faithful to the book in comparison to what followed, it even has the pit.
Vincent plays the titular man. He walks as if the weight of what’s left of the world is on his shoulders, a visible sign that he's a man for whom routine has become a kind of prison. There’s a lengthy flashback to a happier time that could've and should’ve been emotionally powerful, but some painfully bad dubbing issues leave the scenes feeling cheap and insincere. Had they been rectified it would've been a better film, because the story is there and the sense of isolation that it requires is captured well enough.

3 heartbeats away from hell out of 5