Beginning of the End

Beginning of the End is a 1957 science fiction film starring Peter Graves and Peggie Castle. In it, grasshoppers are accidentally allowed to eat atomic radiation-grown foodstuffs at the Illinois State Experimental Farm, grow to gigantic size with gigantic appetites, and attack Chicago. Director Bert I. Gordon used rear projection, a common special effect at the time, to present the giant grasshoppers "interacting" with the characters. He also inc... more

Beginning of the End is a 1957 science fiction film starring Peter Graves and Peggie Castle. In it, grasshoppers are accidentally allowed to eat atomic radiation-grown foodstuffs at the Illinois State Experimental Farm, grow to gigantic size with gigantic appetites, and attack Chicago. Director Bert I. Gordon used rear projection, a common special effect at the time, to present the giant grasshoppers "interacting" with the characters. He also included close-up shots of grasshoppers crawling on photographs of Chicago buildings for ultra-low-budget establishment and action scenes. The grasshoppers can actually be seen walking off a postcard featuring the Wrigley Building, which the giant insects were supposed to be scaling. This movie was featured on the movie-riffing TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) during its fifth season. less