Watch MST3K: Beginning Of The End

MST3K: Beginning Of The End is a 1957 sci-fi/horror movie directed by Bert I. Gordon. The film tells the story of Dr. Ed Wainwright, a scientist experimenting with radiation in agriculture to produce giant vegetables, which he hopes will end world hunger. However, one of his experiments goes awry, causing locusts to grow to enormous sizes and attacking the nearby town of Ludlow, Illinois.

The movie was featured on the popular TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) in 1994, where the main characters Joel Robinson and his robot friends Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, watch and riff on B-movies while trapped in space by a mad scientist.

In MST3K: Beginning Of The End, Joel, Tom, and Crow provide hilarious commentary as they watch the movie, mocking the cheesy science, bad acting, and ridiculous plot. The cast also performs skits and songs during the breaks to break up the movie-watching experience.

The movie's opening scene shows Dr. Wainwright watching a plane crash into a hill, followed by him finding the driver's radioactive dog dead. The scene sets up the film's premise, as the accident leads the doctor to the discovery of radiation's growth potential. The audience is introduced to the town of Ludlow and its residents, a mix of farmers, townspeople, and reporters who all react to the giant locust invasion.

As the giant locusts attack the town, Dr. Wainwright tries to stop them with his invention, a sonic device that will ultimately be the insects' downfall, and a fight ensues between the scientist and the government's military forces over what to do about the giant insects. MST3K: Beginning Of The End's dialogue is a mix of wooden acting, hammy melodramatic deliveries, and bad movie clichés. Joel and the robots' witty commentary provides a hilarious contrast to the film's earnest tone.

The movie is typical of the 1950s sci-fi/horror genre, with its emphasis on radiation's dangers, innocent townspeople placed in danger by scientific experiments, and a heroic scientist working against unfeeling government forces. The giant locusts themselves are brought to life with practical effects, using a combination of real insects and props, but are not particularly convincing by modern standards. The ridiculousness of the movie is made all the more hilarious by Joel and the robots, who expertly riff on the movie's flaws.

MST3K: Beginning Of The End delivers all the hallmarks of the MST3K experience, including inside jokes, running gags, and references to pop culture. Fans of the show will delight in references to "Oprah walking through a petrified forest" and "Franklin Delano Lentil Soup." Tom Servo and Crow are also featured performing a catchy song about giant locusts, which is sure to get stuck in viewers' heads long after the movie has ended.

Overall, MST3K: Beginning Of The End is a hilarious and entertaining example of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 series, featuring the classic mix of bad movies and snarky humor. The movie is a must-watch for fans of the series or anyone who loves a good bad movie. Along with the witty commentary from Joel and the robots, the film's retro charm and sci-fi trope staleness are precisely what make it a perfect candidate to be riffed on by this classic TV show.

MST3K: Beginning Of The End is a 1993 animated movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 32 minutes.