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.

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."

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.