How sad is this?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Five ordinary earthlings are given a box by a benign alien (a fine and credible performance by Arnold Moss) containing capsules capable of killing millions of people. If they can refrain from using the capsules with twenty-seven days, then the earth will be spared from annihilation.Director William Asher relates the intriguing story at a steady pace and maintains a serious thoughtful tone throughout. John Mantley's compelling script offers an intelligent and provocative exploration of human nature as well as mankind's capacity for either self-destruction or self-preservation. Gene Barry as cynical reporter Jonathan Clark and Valerie French as the sweet Eve Wingate make for appealing leads; they receive sturdy support from George Voskovec as the kindly Professor Klaus Bechner, Stefan Schnabel as a sadistic power mad Russian general, Friedrich von Ledebur as the wise and noble Professor Karl Neuhaus, Paul Birch as a hard-nosed admiral, and Azemat Janti as resolute Russian soldier Ivan Godofsky. The ubiquitous Paul Frees has a small uncredited role as a newscaster. Henry Freulich's crisp black and white cinematography provides a nice sharp look. A solid little movie.

I have been waiting 52 years to see this film again and I wasn't disappointed. I was 13 when I first saw it at a Saturday Matinée and still remembered most of it. At the time I worried about the Russians as they most likely were worried about us, but to me this was a great sci-fi film. I don't remember if I saw 'The Alien' as a bad guy but I remembered those capsules oh so well. The oval, see-through container and the silver capsules inside. I remembered what happened to the Chinese girl but couldn't recall how the Russians got to Ivan's capsule. The only slightly negative factors were the low budget, the ancient special effects technology and propaganda aspects of the script but these were so minor they don't affect the labeling of this film as a classic. The cast was fine, the directing crisp and well-paced, and technically it was more than adequate for its time. I can't wait for the DVD.

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.

I actually enjoyed this movie. It was a surprisingly sophisticated movie for its time. Giving 5 everyday people the power to destroy large areas of human life without destroying all other life and the environment was intriguing. And although making sure that the whole world knew who the five were was essential to the movie, for some reason I didn't quite expect it. The actions of each government was formula and the better dead than red rhetoric was infused throughout the whole movie. My complaint is probably one more of the times in that they could not help but inject an improbable love relationship between the British lady and the American man. Still well worth watching...But I think it is time for a modern remake of it. With today's extreme special effects and a very Geo-politically different world it would be a winner.