By itself on the first side of this flipper disc is the title that will generate the most fan interest. Afer being retired from most television screenings, Last Woman on Earth became practically a lost picture, with terrible prints circulating on graymarket public domain VHS tapes. It was originally shot in color but was most often seen in B&W; color prints turned out to be faded to a monochromatic brown. Retromedia's copy is an okay transfer of a surviving 35mm print with variable color that looks good in some scenes and barely acceptable in others, yet gives a good indicaton of the show's original appearance. It's letterboxed flat (not enhanced); the "Vitascope" hyped on the posters is simply flat photography matted to 1:85. Considering that it is practically the only way to see the picture, this presentation will be the one for fans to seek out.

The story recaps the previous year's The World, The Flesh and The Devil without that picture's producton values or its interracial theme. Robert Towne's script sets up the situation reasonably well and does what it can to animate a rather static three-character one-act situation. Sharp businessman Harold Gern (Antony Carbone) sees himself as a he-man master over his alcoholic wife Evelyn (Betsy Jones-Moreland) and likes having his meek lawyer Martin Joyce (Edward Wain - really Robert Towne) along to make himself feel all the more masculine. While scuba diving, some man-made disaster depletes all the oxygen in the air for an hour or so, killing every breathing thing on Earth except for our three survivors. By the time their scuba tanks run out they've returned to the green jungle, where the plants give off enough oxygen to sustain them. After that, little more mention is made of the sudden lack of oxygen and its equally abrupt restoration, and the three accept the fact of their isolation rather calmly. Only three or four shots attempt the kind of "empty world aftermath" that fascinates in films like Five or Target: Earth.

Harold goes right on acting like Eve is his property, a situation that gets worse as Eve and Martin are drawn to each other. Towne's script has a lot in common with European films where characters speak oblique dialogue - they aren't exactly alienated but poor communication emphasizes their isolation. The pace is slow and "Edward Wain" is at best an awkward actor. Carbone is good and the statuesque Jones-Moreland holds the picture up as the center of attention, because little of note actually happens. The desultory ending takes place rather symbolically in a church.

Corman's direction is so basic, you'd think he was trying to do the absolute minimum to tell the story, an approach that sometimes yields a good scene but more often marks time. Without a strong genre framework to prop things up Last Woman on Earth comes off as an arty picture that allows our attention to wander. We remember a handful of interesting moments, as when Eve shows her opinion of Martin's pretensions on the beach by wiping out his name written in the sand.

The best script content refers to Eve's predicament as a woman. As in many Corman films she seeks her independence from male domination, and Towne's script returns more than once to Martin and Eve trying to get Harold to accept that the concept of monogamous marriage needs to be abandoned. If nothing else, this guarantees that Last Woman on Earth will provide thematic linkage for scholars making the case for Corman as a visionary auteur.

The disc has an acceptable assortment of extras. There's an original trailer as well as a tasty stack of other Corman trailers. A commentary has Fred Olen Ray hosting Antony Carbone and Betsy- Jones-Moreland, who sound great 45 years later. Neither are at all bitter about the experience but can't wait to tell stories about how cheap Corman was. Jones-Moreland had to drag all of her own dresses to San Juan and work eighteen-hour days while doing her own makeup and hair. Then while exhausted, she did all of her own stunts, like perching on the balcony railing of high-rise hotel room. Nobody seems to have pre-screened the movie but their reactions are still interesting. What little analysis of the film we hear is questionable - I don't think anybody watches Last Woman on Earth and feels, as the commentators imply, that Antony Carbone's character is being lauded for having morals and high standards.

Also included are the flat-full frame B&W-only scenes added to the film for later television sales by Corman's go-to guy for reshoot-padding, Monte Hellman. The three stars, all looking a bit heavier, take part in a new bar scene and a long scene on a Southern California beach done in just a couple of takes. I definitely remember seeing the beach scene on television in the 1960s.

Creature from the Haunted Sea
1960 / B&W / 1:85 matted full frame / 63-75 min
Starring Betsy Jones-Moreland, Antony Carbone, Robert Towne, Beach Dickerson, Robert Bean
Cinematography Jack Marquette
Production Designer
Art Direction
Film Editor Angela Scellars
Original Music Fred Katz
Written by Charles B. Griffith
Produced and directed by Roger Corman