THE 27TH DAY

THE 27TH DAY (1957). Director: William Asher. 

This picture certainly has an intriguing premise. Earthlings from different countries are taken into space by aliens who claim that they need to populate a new planet: Earth. They are not violent beings so an out and out invasion is out of the question. Instead they give these individuals containers/devices which hold a kind of poison that, once released, could wipe out the human race but leave everything else intact. After 27 days the devices will become inactive. Then they take over world communications and tell everyone on Earth just what the situation is. An American reporter (Gene Barry aka Amos Burke) and a very pretty Englishwoman (Valerie French) combine forces and decide the best thing to do is to hide out until the 27 days are over. Things aren't as simple for the Russian who was given one of the devices. The trouble with the movie -- which is basically a cold war anti-communist tract -- is that it talks itself to death and does very, very little of interest with its intriguing situation. In other words, it's a complete waste of time. French also appeared in The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake and Jubal with Glenn Ford. 

Verdict: Read 1984 instead. *.