Beginning Of The End

[Fearless Freep]

Andrew reviews this one here.

I watched this last night.  It was fairly entertaining for a 50s monster movie.  Meaning it was pretty bad but at least it was short and tight.

I'm not sure which came out first, this one or "Them!", but "Them!" is much better of the two.  (Just looked it up on IMDB, Them! came out first by a few years).  I don't know how many such movies came out like this in that decade so I don't know if it's fair to really call this one a ripoff of Them!, but it's tempting.

One thing that struck me watching this is that at this time, at least in movies, the relationship between the press and he military was a lot different then we would see today.  There seemed to be a mutual respect between the two that the other side had a legitimate job to do and a willingness to let them do that job.

Anywa, the general plot of the movie, if you don't already know it, is that some grasshoppers eat some experimental  giant radiated plants and grow to be giant people-munching, town-crunching grasshoppers that threaten to take over the world, starting with Chicago.

I thought the explanation for how they used radiation to grow giant plants sounded interesting in that they put some thought into a reasoning.  However extrapolating from that explanation to giant bugs doesn't really work so maybe they should've just left it as 'radiation makes things super-sized' and not try to be too clever.

Anyway, fun 50s giant bug movie.

[Scott]

Andrew wrote in his review : "You still need to see this just for the effect of grasshoppers walking around on photographs of buildings."

You also have the troops confronting the grassohoppers with a real faded rear projection image of the giant creatures. This is still a good 50's giant insect movie and like Fearless Freep said not as good as THEM ! which used giant ant looking creations for the ants and the real sewers of L.A..

Must viewing for giant creature fans of the 50's.

Them
The Beginning of the End
Deadly Mantis
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Tarantula

 

[odinn7]

I used to love these giant insect movies when I was a kid. My favorite was Tarantula for obvious reasons but I really enjoyed Them as it's just a wonder to a kid to see giant ants after spending so much time stepping on them and burning them with magnifying glasses.

[dean]

I for one welcome our evil ant overlords, and will gladly submit myself to work in their sugar-mines...


Giant ant movies are great!

[Just Plain Horse]

I didn't notice until a few years ago just how much this film borrows from "Them!"... Tarantula was pretty good, though I was always more fond of the giant reptiles than insects or radioactive humans ("GLEN!" Put that bus down, Glen!").

Both Beginning of the End and The Deadly Mantis have been featured on MST3K... but somehow giant grasshoppers has more novelty to it than a giant praying mantis. I wonder if they'll ever be a movie about giant, radioactive aphids...

[ulthar]

Just Plain Horse Wrote:
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> I wonder if they'll ever be a
> movie about giant, radioactive aphids...


Or ladybugs; that's what I'm waiting for...

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Don't forget Peter Graves.   I actually enjoyed this movie quite a lot.  And Bert I. really knew how to stretch a buck.  I love the grasshoppers on the postcard trick.
-Ed

[Just Plain Horse]

Ed Wrote:
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> Don't forget Peter Graves.   I actually enjoyed
> this movie quite a lot.  And Bert I. really knew
> how to stretch a buck.  I love the grasshoppers on
> the postcard trick.
> -Ed

This is definitly one of Peter's better films (minus "Airplane!", of course)... I mean, how can "Scream of the Wolf" or "Parts: The Clonus Horror" hold a candle to this masterpeice? XD

[Flangepart]

Can't stop self...must quote...Crow T. Robot....
"One weekend a month my ass!"

[peter johnson]

I own it.
I love it.
I love love love the sight of grasshoppers walking off the building part of the photograph and into open sky!!!
You can't do THAT with CGI!!
 . . . well, in fact, I guess you could . . .
never mind . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

[Just Plain Horse]

Flangepart Wrote:
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> Can't stop self...must quote...Crow T. Robot....
> "One weekend a month my ass!"

It is hard... not to...
"Pete! Short, controlled bursts!"
Dammit, I caved in.