"This week's movie sponsored by Chevrolet."

Sure are a lot of driving scenes in this one.

#Monsterdon

OH THE HUMANITY D:

All that corrugated iron D:

#Monsterdon

Behold, Peter Grains

#monsterdon

Why are you interrupting my advances with questions? Are you some kind of MODERN woman?
#monsterdon

@CactuarJoe Never trust an Illinoisan when Springfield is on the line

#monsterdon

End of act 1. That means this is… The End Of the Beginning of The Beginning of the End

#monsterdon #beginningoftheend1957

1950s cars so big because radiation

#monsterdon #beginningoftheend1957

AHHH that's why it's set in Champaign-Urbana. Gotta have the agricultural college back story for the giant bugs.

#Monsterdon

The USDA is going to be the villains? Who wrote this shit, RFK Jr?

#Monsterdon

"They've got a secret project."
Scully you're not gonna believe this

#monsterdon

that entire town, nobody else gives a fuck about them but one journalist

#Monsterdon

Her Guy Friday :D #Monsterdon

#monsterdon "A town of 150 doesn't disappear” - may we forecast a surprise to you, it's name is Dow Chemical. There will be more. Towns of 150? Wait until they start fracking! TOWNS... 150... HA HA HA.

ancient eqyptian cell phone

#monsterdon

Fucking telephone interrupted my brown-nosing -_- #Monsterdon

It's the farmer from central casting.
#monsterdon

"and then I watched Hee Haw for a while. Then the news came on. Then Carson. Then I went to sleep. Then"

#monsterdon

DRAMATIC MUSIC BUILDUP aww you music-blocked me

#monsterdon

ACAB includes All Cops

#Monsterdon

Uh... Can WE see? Remember us? The AUDIENCE? #Monsterdon

"No-one is what the old man said, and he's very old, and very white, so you'd best do as he says."
#monsterdon

The outline of Illinois, if it was a jellyfish. #Monsterdon

"Is that car in your area?"

The WHOLE car? :o #Monsterdon

Wondering how soon something like 'Giant Grasshoppers' would travel around the World today...considering how we knew all about Jimothy within a week.

#Monsterdon #Jimothy

The closed captioning said Havana, but the cop said Urbana.

#Monsterdon

It's safer to make out in retail car parks, if I remember the distant past correctly...

#Monsterdon

What's important here is the clever timing in which I transition from images of our real-world Apocalypse into an imaginary movie Apocalypse. It gives me a nice false sense of control.

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #sunset #smoke #michigan #summer

Whoops, we're in media res :o #Monsterdon

💡 TURN DOWN YOUR LIGHTS 💡

(where applicable)

#Monsterdon

now you've got a lawsuit on your hands buddy

#Monsterdon

@allanb she had a big dinner #Monsterdon

@allanb :ms_eyes: #monsterdon I'm guessing that line never works? ...hoping

@randy_s then you'd have "girl coogties!?" #iDontMakeTheRules #monsterdon

lol, just seeing that dead corpse sitting up in a chair and thinking....

....well we're all thinking it, aren't we?

#Monsterdon

@randy_s she discovered how people get the 'Coogies' #Monsterdon

@CardboardRobot yes! That's what it reminds me of! Bring out the weird sisters! #Monsterdon #TheUnearthly

#monsterdon Someone is a heroin addict.

I dread to look up what 'skook' means in mid century American slang

#Monsterdon

racking my brain trying to think of what bits of the score to THE BEGINNING OF THE END remind me of. some classic song that has a prelude that has a recurring triplet-two half(?) notes-triplet leader, and then the horns come in real aggressive

unfortunately, humming it into soundhound was of no use (of course)

anyway, I feel like some of the more dramatic scenes were just taking that song wholesale with only minor tweaks

#Monsterdon

Don't bully the giant, my Wife hates that in movies

#Monsterdon

This criminal dude is going to find his head stitched onto a dog or something....

#Monsterdon

#monsterdon That's right, you get sanctuary, and I get a houseboy. Now, do you scream or shriek?

#monsterdon The floutist knows…

Well at least it's short.
#Monsterdon

You learn something with every Monsterdon.

Who knew that entomologists had automatic weapons at their fingertips all the time. Whenever he needed it - rat-tat-tat!

#monsterdon

Fun Fact: The "No Animals Were Harmed" moniker applies to "all living creatures". Though that moniker wasn't used until 1972, but the organization which created it goes back to 1877.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Humane_Society
#monsterdon

And as the grasshoppers molder slowly in the lake, we say thank you to Bert "Grasshopper Murderer" Gordan.

As usual, there's just one last thing to do before you leave the theater.

Was BEGINNING OF THE END (1957) the WORST #Monsterdon movie of the year?

'And then, as in all the Eugenics Comedies of Sol III, the designated-preferred pair can mate.'

#monsterdon
#BeginningOfTheEnd

And with that thank you for joining us at #monsterdon !

Big applause to our gracious host @Taweret . Also clap for our trivia maestro @JoeWynne and our streamer at @ryan !

See y'all next bug-week, same bug-time, same bug-channel!

These special effects may be simple but they used them really well. #Monsterdon

Audrey is broken up. "Some of those grasshoppers were my friends!"

#monsterdon

"It's ok honey, you don't have to protagonist anymore"

#monsterdon

🦖MONSTERDON 🎞️

⁉️THE TRIVIA END 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗
REVIEWS!!

"Awful"
- Leonard Maltin

"Bottom-of-the-sci-fi-barrel rubbish, very boring to watch."
- Unknown reviewer

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water

#monsterdon

Post number two, fine and dandy...

#Monsterdon

"Emergency Lab to...uh, BOAT," very targeted communication

#Monsterdon

Most of the remainder of this movie is taken up by various panicked phone calls between soldiers, the bug scientist, the helicopter and the general on a boat, while we see some giant locusts crawling around Chicago making their locust noises.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

@Bluedepth While valid that plan would be far too metal for the 1957 army to attempt.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

I was expecting a bigger boat to be holding the giant grasshopper speaker. Also the general is on the boat because he really wanted to be an admiral this whole time.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

SCREE SCREE SCREE WIRRRRRR WIRRRRR SCREE
augh my ears

#monsterdon

What is your position?

I'm lounging near the women's dresses.

#monsterdon

RE: https://mastodon.social/@devilgirlbot/116989490352239063

#monsterdon #beginningoftheend1957

Will this be the first time the monster has fucked off into a lake?

#Monsterdon

Choose the lingerie shop for an observation post.....

#Monsterdon

They really made the most of filming Chicago at 5 AM on a Sunday morning.
#monsterdon

lol, gets his leg up for his 'explaining something' pose

#Monsterdon

The lead general is like "okay fine you can stay in the city we're planning to nuke, just contact me if your plan works so I can cancel the bombing."

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

Oh sure, now shooting the locust works.

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd1957

While the bug scientist is using the science theremin to produce a grasshopper call, the lead general decides that his science is taking too long and so he's going to nuke Chicago anyway. Somehow it was evacuated.

The bug scientist refuses to leave because he's almost at a breakthrough blah blah technobabble blah blah science. The reporter stays too because she thinks the bug scientist is cute when he does his bug science.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

@CactuarJoe gonna play the doctor who theme for 'em

#monsterdon

Grasshopper will only react to the OG Star Trek theme.

#Monsterdon

#Monsterdon Really impressive they were able to evacuate the city so quickly.

Started nodding off a bit, hopefully I can make it through the end of the Beginning of the End.

#Monsterdon

Play more Atari noises, I think it's working

#Monsterdon

@_L1vY_

The locust says "I am lying" and then the computer explodes!

#Monsterdon
#BeginningOfTheEnd

"I just need one man to replace Ms. Ames. Because misogyny."

#monsterdon

We discovered that if you throw a smoke grenade at a giant locust you can easily capture it and relocate it to a giant cage. Unfortunately, there was no scene where a whole bunch of army dudes were dragging the giant grasshopper into the cage.

Anyway, the bug scientist has hooked the giant prisoner up to a lie detector so we can test if the fake locust mating call we're making makes the real locust hot and bothered.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

90 minute countdown for Science rather than The BOMB saving the day...

#Monsterdon

Will they have the Grasshopper for "just fuck off and die?"

#Monsterdon

@xerozohar You are referencing from all over the place! My brain can't go through files fast enough! 😆

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd

The locust already has TS/SCI clearance, polygraph next!

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd1957

There's a BEE CALL?? Is that real?

#Monsterdon

Need a little girl to make friends with the captive...

#Monsterdon
#BeginningOfTheEnd

#Monsterdon Good thing they already had a grass-hopper cage.

A billion dollars worth of damage. They used to use that almost as a joke. Like it wasn't possible. Now it's Thursday. #monsterdon

A Republican’s biggest fear… walking through Chicago

#monsterdon #beginningoftheend1957

This movie could’ve used a little video of giant locusts overrunning Paxton and the Illinois National Guard. “Show don’t tell,” doesn’t apply to a Bert I. Gordon budget.

#Monsterdon #beginningoftheend

"and a big mac. And 22 rubber bands. And a bucket of mint chocolate ice cream"

#monsterdon

okay but Chicago *is* the most ironic target for an atomic bombing

#Monsterdon

Nuke 'em!

Called it!

#Monsterdon
#BeginningOfTheEnd1957

"They've reached the south side. Get out of the city." #monsterdon

Stock footage giant locusts appear to attack the woodlands surrounding Chicago; the army deploys its own stock footage to fight back. The soundtrack is all locust squeaks and explosions. The situation is desperate.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

"DO NOT PANIC"

they bellow from helicopters

#Monsterdon

The building climbing is cool.

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd1957

I rather enjoy how the action scenes in this movie are army guys and tanks lining up and shooting at stock footage of normal sized locusts blown up to look gigantic.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

"Daddy died in the great Locust War of '57...."

#Monsterdon

We've decided the Locusts are coming to attack Chicago for some reason, so all the characters go there. The general starts planning a defense. The bug scientist preaches doom.

We see some Sherman tanks driving around, presumably taking up a defense position. A news guy tells us that the locusts always scream before they attack. Then we start hearing giant locust screams everywhere.

#monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd #GrasshoppersVsPostcards

Interesting, the giant locusts are described as relatively smart.

#Monsterdon #BeginningOfTheEnd1957

Hardly any animals were hurt in the making of this film. >_> #Monsterdon

#monsterdon Then the locusts will climax, leaving the countryside slick and filthy with bug juice.