The Omega Man (1971)

Director:

Boris Sagal

Writers:

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

Release Date:

1 August 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Biological Weapon | Doctor | Scientist | Destruction

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 (also as De Veren Bookwalter)
John Dierkes	...	Family Member
Monika Henreid	...	Family Member
Linda Redfearn	...	Family Member
Forrest Wood	...	Family Member
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Goldstein	...	Last Boy (uncredited)

Directed by
Boris Sagal

Writing credits
John William Corrington		(screenplay) and
Joyce Hooper Corrington		(screenplay) (as Joyce H. Corrington)
Richard Matheson		(novel "I Am Legend")

Produced by
Walter Seltzer	....	producer

Original Music by
Ron Grainer

Cinematography by
Russell Metty		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Casting by
Jack Roberts		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Art Loel		(as Arthur Loel)
Walter M. Simonds

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Sherry Wilson	....	hairdresser (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Baur	....	unit production manager
Hal Klein	....	production supervisor (uncredited)
Don Roberts	....	assistant production supervisor (uncredited)
Ted Swanson	....	assistant production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Donald Roberts	....	assistant director
Barry Steinberg	....	apprentice assistant director (uncredited)
Ted Swanson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Robert Lamb	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Red Turner	....	prop master (uncredited)
Ken Walker	....	leadman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Martin	....	sound (as Bob Martin)
Gene Lloyd	....	cableman (uncredited)
Norman Webster	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A. Paul Pollard	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Joe Canutt	....	action coordinator
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Brookfield	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tap Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Courtney	....	stunts (uncredited)
Larry Duran	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tony Epper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harold Jones	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kim Kahana	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wayne King Sr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Kingi	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)
Wanda Ann Yates	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bernie Abramson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Warren E. Boes	....	best boy (uncredited)
Lydia Clarke	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William Classen	....	key grip (uncredited)
Alfred Cline	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Jack Morrow	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Gregory Nowak	....	second grip (uncredited)
Henry Polito	....	fourth grip (uncredited)
Lee Wilson	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Margo Baxley	....	costumer
Bucky Rous	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Ralph H. Martin	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ron Grainer	....	conductor (uncredited)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Ed Dutton	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Shirley Cohen	....	production assistant
Michael I. Rachmil	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)
Bill Stern	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Ray Tostado	....	special equipment (uncredited)
Marshall J. Wolins	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (as WB A Kinney Leisure Service)
• Walter Seltzer Productions Inc. (as A Walter Seltzer Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. A Kinney Leisure Service)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Bros. / Columbia Pictures (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1971) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1971) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Fox Movies SF Horror (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Norge (2003) (Norway) (DVD)
• Scanvideo (198?) (Finland) (video)
• Veronica Omroep Organisatie (1979) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Pacific Title  titles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (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) | UK:A (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1971) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) (1993) | USA:GP

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Richard Matheson said that The Omega Man (1971) was so removed from his book that it didn't even bother him.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In one scene, Neville and Lisa go into a drugstore and are looking at various types of medications they can use. The world has been deserted for 2 years, meaning no new products would have come in for at least that long. Medicines have manufacturer expiration dates which have been proven to be artificial. Dry pills are stable for many years past the manufacturer expiration dates. This would have been considered as a goof until only recently.

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:

Remade as I Am Legend (2007)

Soundtrack:

'Round Midnight

Thought-provoking, violent sci-fi story.

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, so the "Omega" Man is a round-a-bout way of saying The "Last" Man. Indeed, this violent science fiction actioner is a remake of a 1964 movie called The Last Man On Earth; in this version Charlton Heston assumes the role played by Vincent Price in the earlier film. It is a depressing - and in many ways thought-provoking - story set in a future where the human population has been wiped out.

Robert Neville (Heston) is the only remaining survivor of a worldwide plague, other than a race of vampiric mutants who come out at night. When the plague was first reaching epidemic proportions, numerous scientists were given serums to try - Neville was the one who got the correct serum, but he never managed to get back to HQ in time to report the good news. Most of the world's people went on to be killed by the plague, but those who survived have evolved into light-sensitive mutants. Every day, Neville drives around the empty streets of LA scavenging for food, fuel and useful objects; every night he returns to his ultra high-security house from which he fends off the creepy minions who come out to taunt him and, perhaps, one day kill him. The mutants are led by Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), formerly a TV newsreader, now an anti-technology crusader who encourages his followers to destroy the scientific and technological items they find, as he blames meddling scientists for ultimately decimating the world's population.

What's so chilling about The Omega Man is that Neville is gradually shown to be the real "mutant". He is the only man left from the world as it WAS; Zerbe and his mutant hordes are the evolutionary creatures of the world as it IS. Distressing as it is, The Omega Man is saying that in the event of a worldwide catastrophe human life would find a way to prevail, but the remnants of previous human life might need eradicating first. From the sensational opening - in which Heston screeches his car to a halt on an empty street and starts shooting at an unseen being in a skyscraper - to the climax (which is simultaneously happy AND sad), The Omega Man constantly raises questions and manipulates our fears. It has weaknesses - sometimes the metaphors and morals are too heavy-handed; parts of the film are slow-going, with an excess of talk which merely goes over plot details already mentioned; there are dated elements (music, decor, costumes, vehicles, slang speech) which deny the film its topicality over 30 years on. But, in spite of all that, The Omega Man remains a worthwhile sci-fi actioner and another cult flick in the Charlton Heston "shock sci-fi" canon (see also Planet of the Apes '68 and Soylent Green '73).