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The Last Man on Earth (1924 film)
Encyclopedia
The Last Man on Earth is a silent
comedy produced by Fox Film Corporation and loosely based on Mary Shelley
's 1826
novel The Last Man
. The film was remade as the semi-musical comedy It's Great to Be Alive
(1933), and influenced the sci-fi novel Mr. Adam
(1946).
known as "male-itis" has killed every fertile man on Earth
over the age of 12. Boys under the age of 12 have been vaccinated
, but they are all rendered sterile
. Womankind takes over the world and a woman becomes President of the United States
.
Meanwhile, a female aviator, Gertie (Grace Cunard
), flying over the Ozarks finds smoke rising from the chimney of a cabin. She discovers a reclusive hillbilly
named Elmer Smith (Earle Foxe
) living there with his sweetheart Hattie (Derelys Perdue
). He is captured and examined at a hospital. All the women in the world soon begin to fight over Smith.
This film emphasized two events still very memorable at the time: the 1918 influenza epidemic, and women winning the right to vote
in 1920.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
comedy produced by Fox Film Corporation and loosely based on Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
's 1826
1826 in literature
The year 1826 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Juvenile Miscellany, an American magazine for children, begins publishing in Boston...
novel The Last Man
The Last Man
The Last Man is an apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The novel was harshly reviewed at the time, and was virtually unknown until a scholarly revival beginning in the 1960s...
. The film was remade as the semi-musical comedy It's Great to Be Alive
It's Great to Be Alive
It's Great to Be Alive is a science fiction musical comedy film produced by Fox Film Corporation, is a remake of The Last Man on Earth , and later influenced the novel Mr. Adam by Pat Frank.-Synopsis:...
(1933), and influenced the sci-fi novel Mr. Adam
Mr. Adam
Mr. Adam is the first novel written by Pat Frank dealing with the effects of a nuclear mishap causing worldwide male infertility. The work was initially published by J. B. Lippincott Company, but was reprinted once in 1959 by Pocket Books under the title Mr...
(1946).
Plot
In the year 1960, a plaguePandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
known as "male-itis" has killed every fertile man on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
over the age of 12. Boys under the age of 12 have been vaccinated
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
, but they are all rendered sterile
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
. Womankind takes over the world and a woman becomes President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
.
Meanwhile, a female aviator, Gertie (Grace Cunard
Grace Cunard
Grace Cunard was an American actress, screenwriter and film director, who was also sister of actress Mina Cunard.-Career:...
), flying over the Ozarks finds smoke rising from the chimney of a cabin. She discovers a reclusive hillbilly
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
named Elmer Smith (Earle Foxe
Earle Foxe
Earle Foxe was an American actor.-Background:Foxe was born Earl Aldrich Fox in Oxford, Ohio, to Charles Aldrich Fox, originally of Flint, Michigan, and Eva May Herron. His older half sister was Ethel May Fox, a music teacher, born in Michigan to Charles Aldrich Fox and Katie Eldridge. Always very...
) living there with his sweetheart Hattie (Derelys Perdue
Derelys Perdue
Derelys Perdue was an American silent-film actress and popular dancer during the 1920s. Her height was 5' 2.5"....
). He is captured and examined at a hospital. All the women in the world soon begin to fight over Smith.
This film emphasized two events still very memorable at the time: the 1918 influenza epidemic, and women winning the right to vote
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
in 1920.