Beginning of the End
The phone in Audrey's car is a precursor to modern cell phones. It worked off of the Mobile Telephone Service, a VHF service with very limited availability. The user would be connected to an operator, who would then route the call to a second operator that could then route the call to the intended recipient.,There are no mountains in central Illinois.,Col. Tom Sturgeon: Where do I get off asking the Regular Army for help with a bunch of oversize grasshoppers?,On the copyright line of some prints of the film (including the one shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000) the production company name AB-PT is obscured by a black box.,Edited into The Weird Al Show: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Hamster (1997),Natural, Natural Baby
Words and Music by Lou Bartel & Harriet Kane
Sung by Lou Bartel & Chorus
An ABC - Paramount Record,Bert I Gordon (Mr B.I.G.) had already enlarged people and lizards before making Beginning of the End. Here, he enlarged real grasshoppers for the special effects instead of models or stop-motion.

Atomic testing on plants results in giant grasshoppers making for Chicago and the army trying to stop them. After going on the rampage in the country, killing several people in the process, they set their sites on the 'Windy City'. They climb buildings before drowning as a result of a high pitched sound which was invented to attract them.

This movie stars 50's sci-fi regulars Peter Graves (It Conquered the World) and Morris Ankrum (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Flight To Mars). Peggie Castle plays the main female lead and love interest. All play good parts and the score in this movie is quite good.

I found this movie enjoyable despite the low budget. Watch it if you get the chance.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.,