Peggie Castle portrays an intrepid reporter investigating the wipe-out of a small suburban town outside Chicago. The military won't reveal information, so she winds up at an entomologist's compound, headed by Peter Graves. His nutrients have created super vegetables, for world hunger, but with horrific repercussions. The first appearance of a gigantic locust is frightening, aided by excellent Albert Glasser music, shrill insect sounds and competent special effects (real bugs magnified via rear projection and/or mattes). The acting is all polished by Graves, Castle, perennial favorite Morris Ankrum (as a general, again), others. Military stock footage is seamlessly interwoven into the battle scenes. The Special Edition DVD print is beautiful (skip the shoddy Mystery Science Theater version - I HATE MST, they ridicule good pictures), looking like a new film, shimmering black and white photography, properly framed at 1:66 to 1, eliminating any grasshoppers crawling outside a skyscraper into the sky. 73 minute running time works wonders, without bloated padding and gratuitous violence. It moves efficiently and competently, thanks to director Bert I. Gordon and the rest of the crew.
Review of Beginning of the End
