People begin to disappear in the surrounding communities outside Chicago. Photographer/journalist Audrey Aimes (Peggy Castle) is on the case, and stops to visit the dashing Dr. Wainwright (Peter Graves), the Dept. of Agriculture scientist who thinks he has solved humanity's problems by using radiation on his plants to make them larger - except what they discover is that grasshoppers have feasted on these special plants and have spawned an army of giant sized locusts! Now the locusts are destroying everything in their path - and they are heading straight for Chicago! Even the military is helpless to stop their relentless advance. Can Wainright and Aimes come up with a solution before it's too late, or is this The Beggining of the End??

"Beginning of the End" isn't at the top of the "giant something or other" films of it's time but has a certain charm. This time the giants are grasshoppers who are munching their way through the state of Illinois. The movie has an impressive list of great B-movie actors such as Morris Ankrum, Thomas Henry, Hank Patterson, Peter Graves and Peggy Castle. The acting carries the film and it's not hard to see why Peter Graves especially was able to move up the ladder and put together an excellent acting career. The pace moves along nicely, but the real point of interest is the sociological undercurrent going on in the film as this is from the days when we were scared to death of having a nuclear weapon dropped on us, and being taken over "from within." (and these days may very well be coming again, giving these types of films a new relevance). The grasshoppers are a bit corny, and Mystery Science Theater 3000 famously roasted this film, but for what it is, this is still a very enjoyable film, especially for fans of 1950s Sci-Fi/Horror films.