The 27th Day (1957) User Reviews

"We cannot hope for disaster, we merely expect it."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 1 January 2007]

I guess I owe the Turner Classic Movie channel a big thank you for it's New Year's Day hangover relief recipe, a full day of sci-fi programming that offered some great well known classics, along with (for this viewer) previously unheard of gems like this one - "The 27th Day". It's premise immediately called to mind the plot for the the best film of it's kind in the genre, "The Day The Earth Stood Still". However, instead of offering the citizens of Earth an ultimatum as in the latter picture, 'The 27th Day" gives five ordinary Earthlings from the world powers a device that has the potential to eradicate all of mankind. Right off the bat, one begins to wonder what in fact you might do yourself if given such a responsibility.

One can't miss the era's anti-Communist propaganda theme in the course of the story, though the message seems a bit deeper than one might originally think. During the 1950's, China was emerging as a world power, but was still largely ineffective in pushing it's huge weight around; interestingly, the Chinese girl Su Tan opted to commit suicide rather than face the decision to deal with her device. Whereas the Russian private Ivan Godofsky reflected a willingness to die rather than reveal the secret of the doomsday device to his military superiors. It reinforced for me the idea that the vast majority of humanity would have no problem living peaceably together, except for their leaders who believe in the superiority of their nation or race. The movie points out how easy it is for reason, discipline and restraint to give way to fear, as people find it easy to fear most everything, not the least of which would be an alien threat of the outer space kind.

The only thing I found to be rather troubling with the story was it's resolution in the way it played out German Bechner's (George Voskovec) mathematical interpretation of the alien capsules. The Soviet General is shown defeated and dying as a 'confirmed enemy of freedom', but just how the alien gizmo could fine tune it's radar to locate individuals like that was way beyond the movie's ability to explain adequately. I also got a kick out of Professor Bechner's entreaty to the aliens at the end of the story from a seat at the United Nations; giving them fifteen seconds to respond from somewhere out in the far reaches of outer space. Geez, couldn't he have allowed for atmospheric disturbances or some other technicality? Why not a full sixty seconds!!

About the only recognizable name actor in the flick is "War of the Worlds" alumnus, Gene Barry. Remember that scene in the tavern with the English woman Eve Wingate (Valerie French)? There was a TV playing over the bar with a Western shootout on view; I'd like to think it was an episode of 'Bat Masterson', but that series came out the following year. In a different scene, Barry's character Jonathan Clark got in a line to Eve about American rock n' roll, calling it 'music almost'.

Anyway, for a chance viewing on an otherwise dreary, rainy New Year's Day, the film wound up an unexpectedly good and interesting treat, even if dated against the backdrop of current world events. Catch it if you can.

Excellent rarely-seen science fiction flick

[vigilante407-1 · 7/10 · 25 December 2006]

The 27th Day is a rather well-written science fiction movie, and it is a shame that it isn't shown on television more often (or more readily available on some home video format).

The plot is interesting in that this time Earth is beset by a passive-aggressive alien who give five people the means to destroy all human life on the planet (since the aliens themselves are non-violent and non-aggressive) so that they can move to this planet from their own dying world. The alien then informs the entire planet of the five's identities and chaos ensues as both the people and their governments have to come to terms with this new escalation in the Cold War.

The movie is well-acted and the story is fairly solid, though I didn't really care for the way one of the protagonists was able to alter the way the alien's devices worked to bring about an end to "enemies of freedom" everywhere. Beyond that minor flaw, I would definitely recommend watching this movie when you get the chance, genre fan or not.

Great movie, but the ending W...T....F....

[jbar19 · 7/10 · 9 February 2008]

OK, the other reviewers have done a great job of describing the movie.

Well made, thoughtful, intelligent etc.

But the ending? Are we to believe that the Dr. used the capsules to blanket the earth to kill only Evil People? Does anyone else think that's a little extreme? I suppose in the desperate context of the movie, he is justified, what with the Russian (Evil, boo boo!) General about to wipe out North America.

I dunno. I just cant see it. It's like the killer space capsules made moral judgments on all humans and exterminated who they felt had 'negative energy'.

I have a buddy with a Littering conviction, I'm hoping he made the cut.

Great movie, the whole time I am shocked at how good it is... then the wacky ending.

Puzzling, Bizarre ending.

Plus, the English chick is naughty in a 'nice girl' way.

Small budget, big ideas, and a nice cast.

[Bruce_Cook · 18 December 2003]

Five Earthlings from different countries (including Gene Barry of "War of the Worlds" and lovely English actress Valerie French) are kidnapped by a Klaatu-like alien who gives each of them a palm-sized transparent case containing three silver capsules. The capsules have the power to make millions of humans vanish, without harming animals or causing destruction.

The alien's race desperately needs the planet Earth, but they are morally opposed to conquering it, so they give the war-pron Earthlings the ability to finish themselves off without devastating the planet in a nuclear war.

Don't expect any special effects except for two brief clips from "Earth versus the Flying Saucers", one space scene from "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and a small-scale test of the alien weapon. But the interior of the spacecraft is nicely done. This is an intelligent and uplifting movie, done on a small budget, although it's a bit too talky and actionless for some taste. John Mantley wrote both the screenplay and the original novel. In the novel the capsules had a somewhat more far-reaching (and disturbing) effect on humans than they do in the film. [Originally co-billed with "20 Million Miles to Earth"]

Seldom seen Columbia science fiction for adults

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 4 June 2019]

1957's "The 27th Day' remains a seldom seen Columbia effort made on an obviously low budget without much in the way of special effects. Five people from different nations are chosen at random by a being from another world who identifies himself only as The Alien (Arnold Moss), his world dying but seeking to colonize the earth to survive. As their species abhors violence they need reassurance that mankind can put a stop to their self destructive tendencies, and to that end each of the five is given a small container with three capsules each, capable of wiping out all human life within a 3000 mile radius (the bombardment of radiation has no effect on plants or animals). Granting them the power of life and death, The Alien releases his captives unharmed, the five all facing difficult challenges ahead for they have only 27 days to use these tiny weapons before they are automatically deactivated. The Chinese girl, plucked from a burning village and without hope, takes her own life thus rendering her capsules useless. The Russian soldier is tortured by his superiors to reveal his secrets, the Soviet leader (Stefan Schnabel) eager to force the West to withdraw from Europe and Asia or face obliteration. German professor Klaus Bechner (George Voskovec) flies to Los Angeles for an important conference, only to hear a devastating worldwide broadcast by The Alien revealing the names of all five people in possession of the deadly capsules, injured by a speeding car and having his capsules confiscated by the United States government during his convalescence. Residing in Los Angeles is hot shot reporter Jonathan Clark (Gene Barry), swiftly going into hiding at a nearby race track after reuniting with English Rose Eve Wingate (Valerie French), the only recipient who immediately threw her capsules away into the ocean. Learning that an innocent man thought to be Clark was killed by a panicked mob, the pair decide to give themselves up to find a solution with Prof. Bechner's invaluable assistance, only 12 days left. The viewer is put in the position of wondering what to do in such a situation, and in the hands of comedy specialist William Asher things remain on a commendably serious level (Asher graduated from features to television, at the helm for BEWITCHED, starring his then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery). The ending is a bit too convenient to be credible but at this point adult sci fi was relatively rare, a welcome change from the more juvenile antics of something like "The Giant Claw." Good roles for reliable players like Paul Birch as the Admiral, Mel Welles as a Russian Marshal, and Paul Frees (seen as well as heard) as a newscaster, but Arnold Moss steals the film. A ubiquitous presence on television who did relatively few features, Moss is instantly recognizable by his Shakespearean voice, best remembered as Anton Karidian in STAR TREK's "The Conscience of the King."

Good movie with a great ending.

[marbleann · 7/10 · 1 January 2007]

I liked this movie. It was your typical lets see if human beings act like they have any sense if given the power to act otherwise because if they mess up the Aliens will destroy us movie. But what was different was the solution. What the alien really wanted us to do. And that is what puts this movie above the usual movies in this genre. What I didn't like is the cop out roles they gave the 2 females. I am not going to tell what they did but I was highly disappointed. Why even have the two females in the movie if they were going to do what they did. I guess they needed a love interest for Barry. The actor who played the evil Soviet was very good. He was very scary. Barry played his usual laid back self. Don't expect special effect. This is more of a morals story then a Sci Fi movie IMO.

The end of the world is nigh

[chris_gaskin123 · 7/10 · 12 June 2013]

I'd been after The 27th Day for years and at last, recently obtained a copy off Ebay on the Colombia Classics label.

An Alien gives 5 random people capsules that if opened before the 27th day is up, could wipe out human life. The 5 people then have lots of people after them, the journalist and British girl go into hiding at a Millatary installation.

I found this movie very enjoyable and tense, especially when the people were hiding, evading capture.

The cast includes Gene Barry (War of the Worlds), Valerie French and Paul Birch (The Day the World Ended).

To sum up, excellent.

Rating: 3 stars our of 5.

The implications...

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 27 March 2022]

One of those 1950s sci-fi movies that plays out as a kind of morality play. Five people from all over the planet are taken on a UFO and provided with a mega-weapon as a kind of experiment to find out if mankind will destroy itself in a month. When they're returned, each adopts a different method to cope with their newfound powers. Inevitably this soon adopts a Cold War bent and builds to a climax with incredible - not to mention eyebrow-raising - implications. This reminded me of a TWILIGHT ZONE story.

Ridiculous anti-commie fantasy

[djensen1 · 3/10 · 1 January 2007]

This is another of Hollywood's anti-communist polemics of the golden 1950s. Stalwart American Gene Barry, lovely Englishwoman Valerie French, and three others are kidnapped by an alien and given clamshells containing fantastic--and fantastically vague--power. What will the Earthlings do with such power? Toss it in the sea or use it to wipe out all of mankind? Anybody who knows American cinema circa 1957 knows the answer to what the commies will do, but the story gets ripe when the Americans actually test the things in the middle of the Pacific. Then one scientist, alone with the ultimate power in the universe, comes up with his own theory and uses it! His smarmy attitude afterward is nauseating, and the cheery disposition of everyone else is appalling.

Here's the spoiler for this dog: the capsules inside the clamshells have a mathematical code that tells the prof that they kill only "confirmed enemies of freedom"! That's right--don't worry about the ethical conundrum of killing everyone that an alien pill decides is an enemy of freedom; just do it! Hurray! No commies! Silly female--and you threw yours into the sea! Ha ha! Kiss me, baby!

Watch it with some Red whine

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 25 August 2017]

An alien gives five humans from different countries capsules that are essentially weapons of mass destruction. You see, the aliens want to move to Earth because their world is dying, but they don't want to kill all of humanity. Rather, they want us to kill ourselves! If the people don't commit genocide within 27 days, the aliens will politely leave. Cold War science fiction film with the usual alien threat of "get along or else." Not a special effects-heavy movie but, like the best sci-fi, it's more about ideas than spectacle. There's also not many recognizable faces in the cast besides Gene Barry and he was no A-lister. So there's really nothing working for or against the film but its script and that was interesting enough.

Dated perhaps but I could easily see this being reworked for today or any day in the future as I doubt things will ever change that much. Or maybe I'm just cynical. Anyway, on the surface this is a Red Scare film. Certain Types will whine about the anti-Communist message, but that didn't bother me. The two people from Red countries given capsules chose not to use them. One committed suicide and the other was tortured and eventually sacrificed himself to prevent his government from using the weapons. The most villainous character in the film is the Stalin stand-in. And, to be honest, I have to give the side-eye to anyone who has a problem with that. My only real gripes are with the pacing and the hokey ending. If you're into classic science fiction from the Golden Age, you should check this one out. It's not one of the best but it's worth a look.

good ideas ruined by a self-serving ending

[grizzledgeezer · 4/10 · 2 January 2016]

This film is worth seeing -- up to the last five minutes.

Up to then, it's an excellent story about good questions -- if you could wipe out all of humanity, without damaging anything else -- would you? How would your enemies react? Is there any justification for ever killing anyone? The poster's claim that it took guts to make this film is not far-removed from the truth.

At least, up to the end. Unfortunately, the ending is an absurd, self-serving cop-out. At least one other reviewer reveals it, so be cautious about which reviews you read. If you have any intelligence, you're likely to scream and holler and jump up and down, crying "No! No! No! No! No!".

First-Rate science Fiction

[BaronBl00d · 8/10 · 3 September 2001]

An alien ship picks up five different people from the five super powers of the world. There he gives each a device that only they can open. Each device contains three vials that have the power to annihilate every human being on Earth. The aliens are a dying race from a dying planet, and even though they can and will not destroy mankind on earth, they will speed up the process of seeing whether mankind will destroy itself. How long is the experiment of seeing whether these five will survive and live without opening the vials? 27 days. This is a thought-provoking film about the nature of man more than anything. The underlying point behind the film is that mankind needs to rise from its child-like state of fighting and killing itself over seemingly petty issues. The aliens act merely as referees watching and waiting to see if the Soviet Union will destroy North America or vice versa. Now, the film definitely has an anti-communist slant(not that there is anything wrong with that)but admonishes all negativity, power hunger, and perniciousness in humankind worldwide. Director Will Asher does a fine job setting up the pace of the story and creating tension. The script, even though very weak in some areas, is quite interesting and full of thoughtful insights. Gene Barry plays the American representative and is good as a cynic. The rest of the cast is also very good with George Voskovec as a German scientist and Stephan Schnabel as a Soviet general standing out. Arnold Moss is the alien and he certainly makes his screen presence memorable. A good film. After watching I kept wondering what I would do if given the same circumstances, and I must confess I am so very happy that that burden lies not on my shoulders! Take some time to see The 27th Day and enjoy!

Well, what would YOU do?

[fenian2153 · 7/10 · 3 September 2009]

An alien has just given you a box with three capsules in it. Only YOUR thought impulses can open the box. Each capsule can destroy all human life in a 3000 mile radius. If you die, your capsules become useless. After 27 days, ALL the capsules become useless. You are one of five humans to be given such a box. Thanks to the alien, EVERYONE on Earth knows your identity. WHAT DO YOU DO? Do you run and hide? Do you report what you know to your government authorities? Do you use the awesome power of the capsules to wipe out billions of human lives? There's something else to consider: the aliens' world is dying. They mean to inhabit Earth whether or not there are humans about. Are they peaceful or warlike? Benefactors or conquerers? You don't know. WHAT DO YOU DO?

Maybe you'll like it, but I just thought it was silly and overdone

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 4 January 2007]

I made sure to see this film because it is a 1950s sci-fi film--one of my favorite genres. Unfortunately, while I was looking forward to either bug-eyed aliens or power-mad conquerers, the aliens in this film were a MAJOR disappointment! First, you only see one very briefly at the beginning (and he looked pretty ordinary) and you also only got a tiny glimpse of a spaceship! Second, the alien was neither the evil conquerer or the benevolent friend of mankind--but a real odd-ball. And finally, the plot itself seemed so dumb, preachy and heavy-handed that it elicited more yawns than thrills.

As the film begins, five people from five different parts of the world (Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the USA) are kidnapped by an alien. The alien gives each of them devices by which they CAN destroy all life on the planet if they so choose--because, the alien admits that HIS race of people would love to inhabit the Earth but they themselves won't kill to get it. Then, he returns them all. While it's 100% obvious that no one would WANT to use these devices, the alien then announces on TV the identities of the five without telling that the weapons are THAT powerful! So, all the militarists in the world want to find the five and force them to reveal how the weapons work. Much of the rest of the film consists of some of the five going into hiding and one being tortured to get him to reveal how the device works--as the Soviets want to use it!!! This part of the film just seemed pretty silly. Sure the USSR was an evil and corrupt nation (sorry, but it's fact--especially under Stalin), they never would have thought of using it like they did in the movie! Later, one of the five (the German scientist), somehow figures out that the devices can also be used to kill only all the EVIL people who hate freedom. So, he uses it to wipe out all the evil Commies and presumably others who were anti-freedom and the world then becomes a paradise!! Preachy, silly and full of plot holes--this movie just isn't worth your time, though it is an interesting relic simply for the way it addresses Communism--in particular, the tensions between Nato and the Soviets.

Superb contemplative work of quite awesome concept.

[uds3 · 1 June 2002]

Grossly undervalued, under-marketed and overlooked piece of Scifi. Intellectually right up there with THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and presenting in some ways many of the inter-racial and socially irresponsible foibles that human-kind finds so entrenched. Made at a time of the escalating Cold War, the film unashamedly picks its sides but hey, its an American production!

I saw the film on its initial release when I was just 12, I could hardly then lay claim to knowledge of all things political, but I KNEW a good film when I saw one. In the viewings since (and it is shown way too infrequently on cable) I have come to admire its message and inherent brilliance.

An alien civilisation whose planet is pretty much the next dead thing (WAR OF THE WORLDS, THIS ISLAND EARTH, etc) looks to speed up destruction of the human condition by giving a representative of each of the five super-powers the ability to eradicate life in totality. For the purpose, an alien drops in with a few vials of 'wipe-out' and hands them out to the chosen five before retiring to the referee's corner to watch the game.

Gene Barry, who played it so cool in WAR OF THE WORLDS is the US agent with the chiselled chin and all the right accreditation. The supporting cast are all good and with hands-on direction, about the only thing to let it down are the micro-cosmic budget-restrictions. It remains though a classic film of the genre and is deserving of a much higher profile than that it currently enjoys. Probably due for a remake about this time.

Message from the Stars

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 1 January 2007]

(There are Spoilers) Cold war alien from space sci-fi thriller that has five people from different parts of the earth entrusted with the power of destroying the entire human race. Being abducted by an alien space ship the five earthlings L.A reported Jonathen Clark, Gene Barry, young British woman Eva Wingate,Valerie French, German scientist Prof. Klaus Bechner, George Voscovec, Chinese peasant Su Tan, Marie Tsien, and Red Army private Ivan Godofsky, Azemat Janti. These five are given these strange glass encased capsules by the Alien spaceman, Arnold Moss, that only they can open and activate.

Told by the Alien that they have just 27 days to either destroy themselves, by opening up and arming the capsules, or if they don't it would mean curtains for the aliens in their plan to make the earth their new home away from home which is to be destroyed by their sun, turning into a super-nova, in 35 days. The aliens who are dead set against violence of any kind don't have it in them to kill anyone much less wipe out the entire human race. In order to have the earth all to themselves the aliens know that the humans, from studying them over the centuries, are more then willing to do themselves in. With just a little push on their part, the aliens, in giving the human race the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, it will only kill human beings and leave everything else on earth alone and they'll be more then happy, by their not using the wisdom and common sense that nature or the lord gave them, to mindlessly self-destruct.

The Alien for some strange reason broadcast, on live TV, the reason for his coming to earth and even more puzzling the true reason for the destructive capsules that he gave the five humans. The Alien also gives out their names and addresses and making it almost curtain that they'll be marked men, and women, by everyone from neighborhood kooks to secretive and shadowy spy agencies as well as ego-maniacal power hungry world leaders. As you would expect all the people who received the capsules become targets of the very country's that they live in but are saved from either being killed or suffer severe mental or psychical damage since they, those who received the capsules, are the only ones who can open, with their individual minds, and use them.

With the 27th day soon upon them the two earth super powers, the USA & USSR, feeling that each of them are now in possession of this super-neutron bomb. With reporter Clark of the USA and Private Godofsky of the USSR, in possession of the capsuls it's now only a matter of time before the human race, with the help of the space aliens, blows or neutrons itself out of existence until the very wise and observant German scientist Prof. Bechner, one of the five earthlings who received them, notices something cryptically etched onto the capsules that the aliens who put it there hoped would be deciphered.

The 1957 movie "The 27th Day" is in many ways ahead of it's time in not being so over-the-top in trying to paint the former Soviet Union, the Evil Empire dubbed by the future President Ronald Wislon Reagan, as pure evil. Both Willing and able to go so far as killing every man woman and child on earth, including those within it's own borders, in it's mindless and mad rush to achieve world domination. We only have the power mad Soviet general Stefan Schnabl and his hand picked stooges trying to have the deadly capsules used to wipe out the entire Western Hemispher. It's the brave and good Red Army private Godofsky, also one of them, who turns out to be the real hero in the film by freely giving up his life by jumping to his death to prevent that from happening.

You get the strong feeling in watching "The 27th Day" that it's message is that it's only the power mad leaders on both sides of the Iron Curtain, not the majority of people of their respected country's, who are the one's more then willing to bring about Armageddon upon the world. These insane actions are order to fulfill their mad dreams of being the first person or world leader to conquer the entire planet

Can we resist killing all human life?

[lecody · 7/10 · 12 January 2007]

I actually enjoyed this movie. It was a surprisingly sophisticated movie for its time. Giving 5 everyday people the power to destroy large areas of human life without destroying all other life and the environment was intriguing. And although making sure that the whole world knew who the five were was essential to the movie, for some reason I didn't quite expect it. The actions of each government was formula and the better dead than red rhetoric was infused throughout the whole movie. My complaint is probably one more of the times in that they could not help but inject an improbable love relationship between the British lady and the American man. Still well worth watching...

But I think it is time for a modern remake of it. With today's extreme special effects and a very Geo-politically different world it would be a winner.

Intelligent SF drama.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 31 March 2009]

There's this extraterrestrial guy known as "the Alien" who zips to earth in a flying saucer and kidnaps five ordinary people -- an LA reporter (Gene Barry), a nice English singer (Valerie French), a German-American egghead (George Voskovic), a Russian soldier (Azemat Janti), and a Chinese girl (Marie Tsien).

Once the puzzled guests are comfortably seated in the Alien's space yacht, he explains to them that his culture lives on a planet that is about to be demolished by a novating sun. All the people on his planet naturally want to evacuate to the planet Earth and live in Las Vegas. Well, not necessarily Las Vegas. But they don't want to live among an earthly population who have been ruled by impulses from their reptilian brains and have been warring constantly with each other. And the Alien's own culture doesn't permit them to exterminate the present population on Earth.

Therefore, he proposes to give each of the five captives a little scallop-shaped box, each of which contains capsules that together will destroy all human life on Earth -- and nothing BUT human life. The Alien opines sensibly that earthlings will use the capsules to destroy everyone, thereby sparing the Aliens the distasteful trouble of doing so. The earthlings have 27 days. At the end of that time, the capsules will become powerless. Each of the five boxes will turn to dust if their owner dies during the 27 days. The Alien then deposits them back on earth, in the places whence they came. He does not wish them good luck.

Well, things happen fast. The Chinese girl commits suicide and her box does indeed disintegrate. The Russian soldier isn't a bad chap but his bloodthirsty leaders shoot him full of drugs and drag the secret of the capsules out of him. The British babe throws hers in the sea. There is a good deal of political intrigue and running around. The singer joins Gene Barry and they hide out for a while in an out-of-season race track before giving up to the authorities.

The Russian general, now in possession of the ultimate weapon, demands that the US withdraw its troops to North America. The US complies but the treacherous Red begins to recite the longitude and latitude of 3 locations in the Americas -- one for each capsule -- that will depopulate all of North America and parts of Central America, leaving the way clear for an invasion by the USSR and its partners. The humble Russian soldier rebels and tackles his leader who dies before he can carry out his nefarious plan.

How does he die? Here's how. The German scientist -- a GOOD German scientist because he is on OUR side -- figures out from some hieroglyphics printed on the capsule and from some off-hand remark by the Alien, that the capsules will only kill BAD PEOPLE. That's how the Soviet general dies. And that's how all the bad guys in Russia and China presumably die too.

This is ludicrous. All the bad guys are limited to Asia? And all the good guys live in Europe and North America? So far this has been a slightly sluggish but thoughtful story made for adults. Then suddenly it collapses in upon itself, squashed flat by the heavy weight of reassuring morality it carries. John Mantley wrote the novel this story was based on and at least he had some token Westerners bite the dust too -- an occasional Archbishop, a couple of politicians. And Mantley also recognized that true evil must be measured on at least an ordinal scale, not a nominal one. That is, some people are less evil than others. In the novel, those with SOME bad ideas suffered miserable headaches while the evil was burned out of their brains, but they survived.

Yet, this isn't a junky movie. It's rather like a thought experiment. There are no monsters and no splashy razzle dazzle effects. What there is, is useful and kind of horrifyingly simple. An elderly scientist volunteers as a subject to see if the capsules really do what they're intended to. He's afloat in mid-South Atlantic in a raft, accompanied only by some goats and pigeons. The capsule is sent to his coordinate and -- poof. He disappears. His empty clothing flops to the deck. Neither the pigeons nor the goats give a damn but observers aboard the distant US destroyer do.

It's a little slow for the kids, and maybe for some adults. No giant grasshoppers or anything. And the plot has a couple of holes that need caulking badly. But the film remains a sly and perceptive comment on human nature. In real life, of course, it would be unsafe to predict the happy ending we see in this movie.

Short budget science fiction movie with a strange and twisted storyline

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 11 October 2022]

Bizarre and outlandish Sci-Fi movie with an anti-communist critical and a peace message . Aliens take five people who suddenly find themselves on an alien spacecraft . They're from five nations , including the "Superpowers" (USA, USSR and China), there an alien give them small capsules which can kill mankind without additional damage, with the understanding they will colonize Earth only if they use the weapons . The main extraterrestrial (Arnold Moss) lends five weapons which will permit to destroy themselves without harming the planet, this weapon affects only human life , nothing else .No power on Earth can open a given container except a mental command from the person to whom it is given. It will be long to them for 27 of the 35 days remaining to us , if at the end of that midnight of the 27th day Greenwich time , they've not used will automatically become harmless . They are under no compulsion to make use of the weapons , they cannot hope for disaster . If they don't use the weapons the human race will live and the extraterrestrial will die . One piece will be given to each of the kidnapped five and each capsule will then eradicate all human life within a 3,000-mile radius of its designated location. They may of course turn them over to governments : 'the decision is yours , the weapons are yours to do it as you wish' . Along the way , our two protagonists (Gene Barry ,Valerie French) and others escape from governments that want to take the strange capsules for their own purports .

This The 27th Day (1957) belongs to 50s Science Fiction's classic period in which had been made a lot of nice films dealing with with extraterrestial invasion and the communist dangers, including films as ¨War of the worlds¨ , ¨It Conquered the World¨ , ¨Killers from Space¨, ¨Red Planet Mars¨ and many others. Based on a novel by John Mantley , in fact himself wrote the script .A main candidate for the strangest and nuttiest Science Fiction of all time with a surprising premise and plenty of twists turns and set-up, dealing with five individuals abducted by alien forces who give them each a container holding capsules and each person has been provided with the power of life and death. Any of these individuals has the capability to instantaneously launch the capsules to whatever coordinates he/she chooses . This one results to be an incoherent movie , at times , overburned with various messages about politics , world peace and science . It stars the always agreeable Gene Barry who also starred another classic Sci-Fi : War of the worlds , along with beautiful Valerie French , both of them giving acceptable interpretations . Being accompanied by by brief known faces , such as : Arnold Moss as the rare Alien ,Stefan Schnabel , George Voskovec ,Paul Birch , Fred Aldrich and Friedrich von Ledebur as Dr. Karl Neuhaus who sacrifices himself to prove the power of the dangerous extraterrestrial weapon.

The motion picture was professionally directed by William Asher , though its has various flaws and gaps ; being regarded by some critics as one of the more cerebral and intelligent movies in the Sci-Fi vintage period .William Asher had a long career that spands over forty years . He first worked in Hollywood in the mail room at Universal , and subsequently became producer and filmmaker . He was a director and producer, known for The Shadow on the Window (1957), Johnny Cool (1963) , Fireball 500 (1966) and Kay O'Brien (1986). And he made several episodes from famous TV series , such as : The Paul Lynde Show , The Twilight Zone, Shirley Teample's storybook , The Thin Man, Sally , Lucas Tanner , Bad New Bears , Marcus Welby and Bewitched (1964) . And he directed musical beach films , such as : Beach Blanket Bingo , Biquini Beach , Muscle Beach Party , How to Stuff a Wild Bikini . Rating : 6/10 . The pic will appeal to Science Fiction buffs .

Product of the times...

[fluffy2560 · 3/10 · 15 September 2010]

Interesting little movie, a product of the times and rather short at 1h 15m. This is simply an American propaganda movie of the 1950s. Leading man Gene Barry does a workman like job as the conscience of the few chosen to carry the weapons of mass destruction. The rest of the cast provide sufficient background decoration including the always interesting Stefan Schnabel in an early role looking very Stalin like as megalomaniac leader of the USSR. With a face like that, he was made to play the Soviet heavy. Odd casting decisions here and there - leading lady Valerie French is OK to look at but she sounds bizarrely and comically like Princess Diana. I was surprised to see she was actually British as it sounded like she'd been badly voice coached. Clearly some budget problems beset this movie with quite large chunks set inside a stable/tack room at a California race track. Having set themselves a time line involving 27 days (e.g. 27th Day of the title), they had to fill the story up somehow and try and introduce a mechanism for creating romance between the leading man and woman. Worth watching as a movie of the times and as a bit of social history, but I think other movies like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" do a more entertaining (if tacky) job of providing allegories of good versus evil and democracy versus dictatorships common in movies of the Cold War.

The 27th Day

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 9 November 2022]

The underlying premiss of this film is quite interesting. Five people are kidnapped by a vastly superior alien race and each given a potentially toxic capsule. These capsules can only be opened upon the command of the owner, but if they ever are then mankind is doomed to eradication. The five are from different nations and all walks of life and once the alien announces to the assembled world the identities of the group, their lives become frantic and unsafe - a predicament they must endure for twenty-seven days if they are to save the population from certain death! Arnold Moss does his best "Klaatu" impersonation as the visitor and William Asher offers us a considered story about how ordinary people - and their governments - might react in such weighty circumstances. Gene Barry leads a rather unimpressive cast, however, and that really lets this decent story down somewhat. He wasn't very good at the best of times, and here neither he nor Valerie French's "Eve" do justice to the intrigue of the plot. The ending, even after a few viewings, is a bit disappointing - but the whole concept makes this well worth watching.

"Maybe people really aren't worth saving."

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 20 September 2017]

Five seemingly random individuals find themselves mysteriously on board an alien craft. The alien gives each person three capsules. Each capsule is capable of wiping out vast sections of the Earth's population, but will not harm anything else. The five are sent back to their homes with their powerful weapons and told that they have 27 days in which to either use their devices to destroy humanity or find a way to live in peace. If they should chose to wipe-out the Earth's population, the aliens will take over the world. If not, the aliens will move on and look for another home. Each of the five is left with a horrible dilemma - how to handle this kind of power?

I was going to get into detail on a whole political thing about some of the deeper aspects of The 27th Day, but I've since thought better of it. I usually write about the entertainment value of a film and what I liked and didn't like. I tend to leave the deep thinking for people who are much smarter than me. All I say on the subject is I would hate to see anyone allotted this kind of power given the current state of affairs in the world where words are considered a form of violence. I'd hate to see what someone would do with these capsules just because they felt slighted, etc. The ending of the films is especially troubling. So the people in the film discover how to use their devices to kill only those they consider evil because they do not support freedom? How do you decide who is in favor of freedom and what is your definition of evil? Were all those communists you wiped out really evil? Or were some of them living under a regime they did not agree with? Just a silly, illogical, nonsensical way to end the film.

On to other things. So, was The 27th Day an entertaining film? Reading through some of the comments on IMDb, I know it has its fans, but I'm not really one of them. The film is well made, it has a reasonably interesting premise, and it features rock solid acting. But, unfortunately, it is all pretty much a bore. I found most of the movie as dry as dust. I had to fight with myself to stay awake. The relatively short 75 minute runtime just seemed to drag on and on forever. People talking and talking and talking with nothing much happening. Not what I call entertainment. And then there's that ending I've already discussed. What a mess.

My one sentence summary: The 27th Day is a well-made film that suffers from a deathly dull script and an ending I find especially troubling. An unfortunate 4/10 from me.

A thoughtful look at "the 27th Day"

[scotmachigh · 10/10 · 14 December 2001]

This a very thoughtful film. Even though the film takes place in 1957 the subject matter is current into todays world. The film makes you think of society as a whole. Not of just one nation. The ills and the good of human relations with each other and our surroundings. How far we would go to make this world a far better place or a Hell of earth. It makes you stop and think, what would you do with the power the people were given in the film. The effects were average for a film of the time period. Great effects were not needed though. Watch, listen and think. The film gets better each time you watch it.

Not the Worst Film to Watch at the End of the World

[dalehoustman · 7/10 · 17 December 2018]

A 1950s science fiction film that is unusually (and often aggravatingly) serious in the unscrolling of its ideas, which are philosophically complex and salted with social commentary if not always cinematic. These (plus the usual low budget) leads to a relatively actionless movie, so this is not amongst the era's most enjoyable SF productions. Still, happy to finally have come across it.

A reflection of the times

[keithomusic · 5/10 · 30 October 2022]

While this is a more thought provoking movie than the usual 50s fare, the anti-communist propaganda is at the height of ridiculousness. There are no special effects and much of the movie is dryer than the Atacama desert. The acting is fine.

Unfortunately the has some very obvious issues with logic, out of the 5 'random' people chosen to be given a weapon of mass destruction, only 2 did anything even remotely moral. The Chinese woman killed herself so the weapon couldn't be used at all, and the English woman through hers into the sea no one could find it (although the British government would have dredged the area where she threw it). And I am still not sure why she suddenly phoned the American and flew out o meet him. The three men all kept it, why were the women so much smarter than the men, these men didn't seem to be stupid, they should know that their respective governments would use it against their 'enemies'. The U. S. not using their weapon at all or forcing the man who had it to open it is not even close to what the U. S. would have done then or now. And the the ending is absolutely immoral, using the weapons to kill the 'enemies of freedom'? Did he just blanket the USSR and Asia, why not cover Europe and the U. S. as well. That means he used the weapon in a way that was no better than using it to kill all humans.

While the acting was fine, most of the dialogue was nonsense, outside of the one line Gene Barry had when they were shacking up at the racetrack. This movie could have been much more thought provoking than it was, but it is just plain boring.