Two men and one woman—the likelihood of conflict and possibly death from that relation is always very high. In Roger Corman’s The Last Woman on Earth (1960), we see this triangle play out in Puerto Rico under an apocalyptic sun.
Antony Carbone plays Harold Gern, a less than reputable businessman, indicted on a variety of monetary corruption charges. However, Harold seems unconcerned. He has a woman by his side—Evelyn (Betsy Jones-Moreland)—and a lawyer—Martin Joyce (Robert Towne, billed as Edward Wain), who’s dutifully taking care of the legal issues Harold’s facing.
Escape to Puerto Rico seemed like the best thing to do. Having fun in the sun and temporarily forgetting one’s troubles (especially those that are self-induced) is exactly what Harold needs and wants. To battle the monotony, the trio go scuba diving. After they get out of water, they find they’re unable to breathe properly, if not at all.
One of the crewmen on the boat is dead, apparently from asphyxiation. As they go away from the shore and enter into the jungle, they realize that the foliage is giving off oxygen, and thus, they’re able to breathe. This still doesn’t explain what has happened or what kind of phenomenon are they experiencing.
As they move beyond the jungle and enter town, they immediately encounter an absolute silence. It appears that everyone is dead, and what the trio has witnessed is some unexplainable apocalypse. There’s plenty of food in the hotel—enough to last them at least a year. But this assurance still doesn’t provide an answer as to what’s happened.
Their questions go unanswered. At the same time, the yearning to find answers about their situation isn’t the primary concern of the audience. This isn’t at the center of Corman’s film. The real drama that ends up occurring is the one that puts a strain on this relationship triangle.
The lack of distraction and the people means that Harold, Evelyn, and Martin must face their problems. Harold’s revealed as a brute who harasses Evelyn. His primary mode is possession—he knows nothing else, and treats Evelyn as an object that can be used. Harold’s under the false impression that he’s in control of Evelyn.
Any moral rules have disappeared. There’s an unspoken agreement between Harold and Martin that the old world and old system don’t apply anymore as they navigate through their current relationships. It’s true that Evelyn has willingly married Harold, mostly for his money. She reminisces of the days before the apocalypse—her day consisted of a lunch at “21,” followed by a shopping spree at “Saks.” But the isolation and the odd “end of the world as we know it” is making Evelyn rethink what she feels. She’s only left with hatred for Harold.
Martin appears to be a better option. He’s concerned for her well-being. When the two decide to escape, and leave Harold behind, Evelyn begins to plan their life together. In turn, this merely reveals Martin’s inherent nihilism. He doesn’t want children, and he firmly believes that God doesn’t exist. Suddenly, the romanticism that Evelyn had in mind has vanished. Martin isn’t exactly the man she had in mind.
The Last Woman on Earth is a thoughtful film. Roger Corman called it “an offbeat little movie.” He does have some regrets about it. Despite the fact that he was in full control of the production, “it was never really what it could have been.” He continues, “We really tried to do something thought-provoking, but we were pretty much done in our small budget. We were shooting it back to back with another film, and we were so rushed that we never actually finished script during production. The script was written as we filmed. We got pages every day. We never knew on any given day exactly what we were going to film. We finished the whole movie in two weeks. Still, we tried our best.”
Corman was interested in development of many different themes; the idea of nuclear annihilation, and the future of life itself. There’s a dichotomy presented between Martin and Evelyn—she becomes the hope of the world, while Martin (unwilling to be the father of the future humanity) deserves nothing but conflict, and ultimately death. Evelyn’s not merely the vessel of a new life, but also the force that might save the planet.
Unexpectedly, in all of his brutality and stubbornness, Harold proves to be the willing participant in the new frontier of humanity’s future. They don’t know what kind of “home” they’ll build, but instead of hiding and screaming like Nietzsche’s mad man that “God is dead,” Harold’s willing to try and build something worthy, and enter the journey with Evelyn.