The Last Child (1971)

I'll tell you why so serious

Great Film overall

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

In the late 60s and early 70s, folks in the US started worrying about overpopulation. This led to a few films set in the near future where society is a dystopian nightmare--where there are just too many people and not enough resources (such as "Soylent Green"). In "The Last Child", this overpopulation has led to a terrible time where folks are limited to only one birth AND folks over 65 are refused medical care...all in an effort to deal with the ever- expanding population.When the film begins, you see that a young couple (Michael Cole and Janet Margolin) are expecting a child. The problem is she already had one...and even though it died shortly after birth, they are forbidden by law to have the second one. So they must hide and hope they aren't discovered. Unfortunately, a cop (Ed Asner) catches on and arrests her...and they're planning on sterilizing the poor lady and destroying the child! What comes next is a cross-country race to try to get to safety in Canada...and help from a couple very unlikely sources.This film is bleak...but also exceptionally well done. It's a tense drama and works very, very well. I was particularly impressed by Van Heflin in his final role--he was exceptional. My only proviso is that some people might just find it too bleak.

The Mod Squad's Michael Cole heads up this great made-for-TV thriller about a young couple on the run from authorities in a near-future world where couples are limited to one child per family. I saw this film several times on Saturday afternoon TV- gosh I hate infomercials. I miss great Saturday afternoon movies. The story in "The Last Child" takes place in the United States in a near future where population growth has caused the government to control the birth rate. Families are limited to one child. What makes this story compelling, is that the couple in question has had a child that died, and this "second" child is not permitted under the law. They are on the run for nearby Canada (of all places) where the law is not so imposing. Now, this is where I could digress into all kinds of political rhetoric, or force my own opinion on you, but in lieu of that, I'll tell you that the ensuing "pursuit" is what makes up the meat of the story. There are stereotypical "bad guys" determined to stop the couple from having their child and there are "sympathetic" good guys who endanger themselves by helping the young couple flee to safety. There's some low budget special effects, but over all, this is a good film for its time that imposes some compelling questions about how far political agendas should be pushed, etc. Personally, this stands as one of the best made-for-TV sci-fi films ever made. The acting and script make up for any technical shortcomings. If you can catch it- go for it.

I just never bought into this story. Even though I agree with the stories subtle premise, that some time in the future, Population Control will be necessary for the survival of the human race. The other part of this movies premise was just not believable. The fact that this couple had to run from the Population Control Police, because they were going to have a second child, even though the first child died at just over 1 year old, seems a little too extreme, and made it hard for me to buy into. This movie seemed too one sided and more of a political statement about one's rights, rather than dealing equally with the serious questions of Overpopulation. Not as good as the other classic TV-movies directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, the Master of 70's TV-Movies & Pilots (Genesis II, Night Stalker, Kung Fu, A Taste of Evil, etc.)

Before Roe v. Wade, and the pro-abortion cult became the state's approved PC religion, the ABC Movie-of-the-Week folks turned out this surprisingly prophetic film. Set in a time when the American democracy had devolved into fascism, and personal freedom was little more than a cliche, this was intended to be a look into a bizarre futuristic world, something like "Brave New World". Nearly thirty years later, that future seems right around the corner.