The Omega Man (1971)

Army doctor Robert Neville struggles to create a cure for the plague that wiped out most of the human race.

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

John William Corrington (screenplay), Joyce Hooper Corrington (screenplay) (as Joyce H. Corrington)

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charlton Heston	...	Neville
Anthony Zerbe	...	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 (as De Veren Bookwalter)
John Dierkes	...	Family Member
Monika Henreid	...	Family Member
Linda Redfearn	...	Family Member
Forrest Wood	...	Family Member

Storyline

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. The plague caused by the war has killed everyone else except for a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people calling themselves "The Family". The plague has caused them to become sensitive to light, as well as homicidally psychotic. They believe science and technology to be the cause of the war and their punishment, and Neville, as the last symbol of science, the old world, and a "user of the wheel", must die. Neville, using electricity, machinery, and science attempts to hold them at bay.

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Plot Keywords:

plague | antidote | albino | post apocalypse | dystopia | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Am Legend

Filming Locations:

South Flower Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,720,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walter Seltzer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The façade/set used for Neville's fortress/home still stands relatively unchanged on Warner Brothers Ranch Park Boulevard (formerly Columbia Ranch) in Burbank. It can be easily seen using Google-Maps 3D. The façade faces east-southeast.

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Goofs

In the first scene of the movie, an establishing aerial shot depicts Neville ostensibly driving through his neglected, derelict city. But in contrast to the street-level-shot footage shown seconds later of trash-strewn streets and abandoned buildings, the aerial shot shows perfectly-maintained rooftop gardens, HVAC units, clean streets, etc.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits feature the credit "Based on a book by Richard Matheson", and does not give the title of the actual book, I Am Legend.

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Alternate Versions

In the common version of this film, the scene where Richie tells Neville that he should either kill the Family or cure them takes place inside Neville's apartment. In an alternate version, the scene takes place on the rooftop, where Neville has a large water tank and a .50 caliber machine gun.

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Connections

Featured in The Last Man Alive (1971)

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Soundtracks

Rock 'n' Soul Music
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Barry Melton, Bruce Barthol, Gary Hirsh, Country Joe McDonald and David Cohen

User Reviews

Great flick

This movie rocks, right from the opening scene where our hero leaps from his car and sprays mutants with a machine gun, to the final frame where... but enough of that. A great flick, one in a line of Charlton Heston post-apocalyptic movies. If you like this you'll love Soylent Green and, of course, the first two Apes films. Heston's like John Wayne in space. Nobody does it better. In this one disease-ravaged mutants stand in for the hippies- that fixes up society's problem with the riff raff, and Charlton has an inter-racial relationship. So there are mixed messages. Charlton Heston chews the scenery in every frame. Oh well, damn you all to hell.