We have watched the double feature Panic in Year Zero (1962) / The Last Man on Earth (1964), the former just this afternoon and the latter last evening.
Panic in Year Zero was great, almost like a documentary of what to do with your family in case of a nuclear attack. Great detail was put into decisions and supplies and showed the strain the father was under to keep the family safe. It was an inexpensively made film and some shots were hilarious (like the stock road footage of a busy highway was grainy and out of focus compared to the studio shot of the family by the side, etc.) and a lot of the action was relatively predictable. All in all, it was a great example of the cold-war fear in film. Film buffs - keep your eyes open for a handsome Frankie Avalon and some great old character actors you might recognize.
The Last Man on Earth is the very first film adaption of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (the other adaptations being Omega Man in 1971 and I Am Legend in 2007) and stars Vincent Price. I do not believe I have ever seen such a faithful translation from novel to film. Having read the original book recently, it was very interesting to see it fleshed out. Vincent Price was strangely suited to the role of the main character. He portrayed a grieving, stressed out father/husband pushed to the limits of tedious, almost boring day-to-day survival. The rest of the actors were decent, if you ignored the dubbed English voices but it was a bit awkward to pretend Rome was LA (or at least a generic American city). There's no sex and little violence, but it is a creepy tale worth watching.
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