Beginning of the End (film)
| Beginning of the End | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Written by | Fred Freiberger Lester Gorn |
| Produced by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Starring | Peter Graves Peggie Castle Morris Ankrum Thomas Browne Henry Than Wyenn James Seay |
| Cinematography | Jack A. Marta |
| Edited by | Aaron Stell |
| Music by | Albert Glasser |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 73-74 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $170,000 |
| Box office | $290,000 |
Beginning of the End is a 1957 American science fiction film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, and Morris Ankrum. Dr. Ed Wainwright, an agricultural scientist, played by Graves, successfully grows gigantic vegetables using radiation. Unfortunately, the vegetables are eaten by locusts (the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers), which quickly grow to a gigantic size and attack the nearby city of Chicago. Beginning of the End is generally known for its "atrocious" special effects, "and yet," writes reviewer Bill Warren, "there is something almost compellingly watchable about this goofy little movie".
Beginning of the End is the most popular film at the Insect Fear Film Festival at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, according to the National Wildlife Federation's magazine in 1995.