New thrills! New shocks! New terror!
An attractive reporter investigating the mysterious destruction of an Illinois town stumbles upon a secret government laboratory conducting radiation experiments on vegetables. The lead scientist is eager to help find out what happened. Together they discover that giant grasshoppers are behind the devastation. Worse yet, thousands of them are headed toward Chicago! Can they be stopped... or is this the BEGINNING OF THE END?
Beginning of the End (1957) is a horror and science fiction film directed by Bert I. Gordon, released on June 28, 1957 with a runtime of 1h 13m. It stars Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, Morris Ankrum and Than Wyenn. Viewers rate it 4.0 out of 10 across 41 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Beginning of the End before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Beginning of the End.
Trailer
Featurette
Peter Graves
as Dr. Ed Wainwright
Peggie Castle
as Audrey Aimes
Morris Ankrum
as Gen. John Hanson
Than Wyenn
as Frank Johnson
Thomas Browne Henry
as Col. Tom Sturgeon
Richard Benedict
as Cpl. Mathias
James Seay
as Capt. James Barton
John Close
as Maj. Everett
Don C. Harvey
as State Police Car 254 Officer
Larry J. Blake
as Roadblock Sergeant
Eilene Janssen
as William's Date
Hylton Socher
as Frank, grainary platoon soldier
Directed by Bert I. Gordon, written by Lester Gorn and Fred Freiberger, produced by Bert I. Gordon.
Average viewer score of 4.0/10 from 41 ratings.
Oh come on, it's not that bad. Granted, it's not very good but the idea that downtown Chicago is being terrorised by a swarm of gigantic locusts is quite entertaining. It all starts off when photo-journalist "Audrey" (Peggie Castle) stumbles upon an army roadblock near the remote town of Ludlow (no, not the one where Henry VIII's big brother died). The army cordon around the place doesn't prove to be much of a…
Reviewed on July 15, 2026
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Beginning of the End (1957) is currently available to rent or buy from Amazon Video and Fandango At Home. No subscription streaming option is listed right now, so availability may change.
The main cast of Beginning of the End (1957) includes Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, Morris Ankrum, Than Wyenn and Thomas Browne Henry. The film was directed by Bert I. Gordon. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Beginning of the End was released on June 28, 1957 and runs for 1h 13m.
Beginning of the End (1957) holds an average rating of 4.0 out of 10 from 41 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy horror and science fiction films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Beginning of the End trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
