It's not often that one gets a little extra thought with his or her sci-fi B-movie, and it's even less often that such low-key profundity is executed rather well in a film of this kind. The 27th Day came out in the Golden Age of low-budget space adventures and monster movies (in the same year as flicks like The Monster That Challenged the World and 20 Million Miles to Earth). Yet in the vast pantheon of such cheeseball gems, The 27th Day, starring Gene Barry and Valerie French, proves to  possess an uncommon intelligence that helps it stand above other members of its tribe.
 

Azemat Janti, Gene Barry, Arnold Moss, Valerie French,Marie Tsien, George Voskovec

The movie focuses upon five individuals brought together under fantastic yet solemn circumstances. An American reporter (Barry, The War of the Worlds), a British woman (French, The Constant Husband), a German scientist (George Voskovec, The Boston Strangler), a Russian soldier (Azemat Janti), and a Chinese villager (Marie Tsien, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing) are transported onto an alien spacecraft and given a great responsibility to bear. An alien being (Arnold Moss, Reign of Terror) has announced his dying world's intentions to relocate to Earth.

Not believing in flat-out invasion, however, the alien has given the five humans a chance to prove the planet worthy of being left alone by giving each person two capsules, which, if all brought together, hold enough power to wipe out all human life on our world. After 27 days, if the capsules have not been used, then Earth will be spared; otherwise, it's Independence Day, '50s style. For some, the choice to not use the capsules' destructive power is simple. For others, though, pressure over what to do sets in once the whole world learns of the capsules -- leading certain superpowers to pursue them at all costs.

I'll admit that The 27th Day gets off to a fairly convoluted start. The alien's plan to test mankind's ability to not blow itself to kingdom come seems a little overly elaborate (yeah, I realize I'm questioning the credibility of a '50s alien movie, but bear with me), and it does lead to a climactic revelation involving what else the capsules are capable. But although the story's catalyst is a little on the iffy side, the thoughtfulness and meditations that result from it are smarter ruminations than you might expect. The characters endure a moral and ethical nightmare, with some of the capsules' recipients intrigued by the power that they hold and, in one case, so afraid of it that he goes to extreme to be relieved of   the responsibility.

It also helps that the alien adds to the tension by announcing to the whole world not only the presence of the capsules but also the names of those possessing them. This sends humanity into a paranoid spiral that only worsens as the countdown to that fateful 27th day continues.

Valerie French & Gene Barry

 

What helps The 27th Day succeed in the end is a fine job of covering its more philosophical bases while carrying out the story in typical, albeit entertaining, B-movie fashion. The film never takes itself too seriously or pretends its more important than it is (in other words, 2001 this isn't). It stays true to  time-tested '50s sci-fi archetypes; not even the possibility of alien invasion or humanity's potential demise can stop the hunky American and the wispy Brit from falling in love.

Though Universal's horror/sci-fi legacy will always hold a special place in my big, nerdy heart, The 27th Day certainly does its part in proving that you can have your B-movie and think about it, too.

DIRECTOR: William Asher

WRITER: John Mantley, based upon his novel

CAST: Gene Barry, Valerie French, George Voskovec, Stefan Schnabel, Arnold Moss

RATING: No MPAA Rating (some scenes might be too scary for youngsters)

CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

RELEASE DATE: 1957

RUN TIME: 75 minutes

STUDIO: Columbia Pictures

FORMAT: Black & white, full-frame

Photo credits: Columbia Pictures