The 27th Day
| The 27th Day | |
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| Directed by | William Asher |
| Produced by | Helen Ainsworth |
| Written by | Robert M. Fresco (uncredited) |
| Based on |
The 27th Day 1956 novel by John Mantley |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Edited by | Jerome Thoms |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The 27th Day is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Helen Ainsworth, directed by William Asher, that stars Gene Barry, Valerie French, George Voskovec, and Arnold Moss. The screenplay by John Mantley is based on his 1956 original science fiction novel of the same name.
Englishwoman Evelyn Wingate, American reporter Jonathan Clark, Chinese peasant Su Tan, German physicist Klaus Bechner, and Soviet soldier Ivan Godofsky are randomly transported to an alien spacecraft in Earth orbit. There, they are met by a humanoid referring to himself only as "The Alien" (Arnold Moss), who explains that he is the representative of a world orbiting a sun about to go nova. Needing a new world to inhabit within the next 35 days, yet prohibited by their moral code from killing intelligent life, The Alien provides each of the five with sets of three capsules in a clear, round, hand-held case. Each capsule is capable of destroying all human life within a 3,000-mile diameter, with the expectation that humanity will use all the capsules, obliterating itself, leaving the Earth free for alien colonization. The capsules' clear containers can only be opened by the thought waves of the person to whom they were given. Once out in the open, the capsules inside can then be used by anyone, but only during the next 27 days, after which they become inert.
Returned to Earth, Eve (Valerie French) throws her capsules into the English Channel and then books a flight to Los Angeles. Su Tan (Marie Tsien) chooses to commit suicide, causing her capsules to self-destruct. The others go about their daily tasks undisturbed until the next day, when The Alien commandeers all electronic communications and reveals to the world the existence and power of the capsules. Overhearing the broadcast while on a trip to the U. S., Bechner (George Voskovec) is hit by a car while crossing the street and is taken to the hospital, while Pvt. Godofsky (Azemat Janti) is detained by his superiors. Arriving in Los Angeles, Eve is met by a now-disguised Clark (Gene Barry), who takes her to a closed race track where they can hide, undetected. Godofsky is interviewed by a Soviet general (Stefan Schnabel) who, dissatisfied with his vague story, orders him subjected to intense interrogation.
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