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:

Five people given the power to destroy nations! What will they do? What would you do?

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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

The beach scene at which Eve Wingate is out with her original boyfriend, and later where she throws away the capsules, is the same location used by Columbia for the famous love scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in "From Here to Eternity."

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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

Jonathan Clark: People hate because they fear, and they fear anything they don't understand... which is almost everything.

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Connections

Edited into Voskovec & Werich - paralelní osudy (2012)

User Reviews

Yes, a Hidden GEM!

The 27th Day was a REAL find for me as I saw it first many years ago and thanks to the Internet I was able to get a VHS Copy for my collection and I truly treasure it. I Love the Atmosphere in this Black & White Sci Fi Drama and though there really is no

" spectacular" special effects the story and the Characters make this a thrilling and quite entertaining movie. My HOPE is that this " Gem" gets released on DVD and they Digitally remaster it , add some extras and it will be a very nice addition to anyone's Classic Sci Fi Films of the 50's. If Anyone knows WHEN this Movie might get released to DVD I would love to know as the copy I have is not the best and I would love a Uncut, no commercial copy of THE 27th DAY !

Best,

Nicholas Krisfalusy