The 27th Day (1957)

Aliens take 5 people, give them small capsules which can kill mankind without additional damage, with the understanding they will colonize Earth only if they use the weapons.

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

John Mantley (screenplay), John Mantley (novel)

Stars:

Gene Barry, Valerie French, George Voskovec

Cast

Cast overview:
Gene Barry	...	Jonathan Clark
Valerie French	...	Eve Wingate
George Voskovec	...	Prof. Klaus Bechner
Arnold Moss	...	The Alien
Stefan Schnabel	...	The Soviet General
Ralph Clanton	...	Mr. Ingram
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Dr. Karl Neuhaus (as Frederick Ledebur)
Paul Birch	...	Admiral
Azemat Janti	...	Ivan Godofsky

Storyline

Five individuals from five nations, including the "Superpowers," USA, USSR, and China, suddenly find themselves on an alien spacecraft. An alien gives each a container holding capsules. No power on earth can open a given container except a mental command from the person to whom it is given. 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, and each capsule will then eradicate all human life within a 3,000-mile radius of its designated location.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | outer space | psychotronic | race track | female in swimsuit | 

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Taglines:

The 27 Most Terrifying Days in History!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

27-й день

Company Credits

Production Co:

Romson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the Soviet General and Prof. Beckner launch the capsules the General gives the coordinates for Houston, Texas (29° 45' 26" N, 95° 21' W). Beckner gives the coordinates for Moscow (55° 45' 18" N, 37° 37' 14" E). Beckner is also heard giving partial coordinates for 45° 4' 23" N and 12' 12" E but the degrees are missing. When the US tests one of the "bombs" it is suppose to take place in area more that three thousand miles in diameter off the east coast of South America. The test capsule is activated with the coordinates 71° 25' 13" S, 150° 14' 18" E which is instead in Antarctica.

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Goofs

When the doctor is standing in the life raft waiting for the bomb to detonate he is standing perfectly still. If the raft was actually in the ocean there would be be movement.

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Quotes

[Clark turns on a transistor radio, music plays]
Eve Wingate: What in heavens name is that?
Jonathan Clark: Rock 'n' roll.
Eve Wingate: Rock 'n' roll.
Jonathan Clark: Music, almost.

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Connections

Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996)

User Reviews

Superb contemplative work of quite awesome concept.

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.