Beginning Of The End (1957)

Starring Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, Morris Ankrum, Than Wyenn, Thomas B. Henry
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A reporter stumbles across the destruction of a town, and recruits a scientist from the Department of Agriculture to help her investigate, and they discover that locusts have grown into a deadly menace.

Bert I. Gordon follows the successful template set up by Them! to make his own giant 1950s bug film, using his familiar technique of enlarged rear projection to magnify grasshoppers in size, and integrate them with footage of his live actors.  Where the film fails is his dependence on actual live grasshoppers to play the villains, as a full-size mockup or professional puppet, as in Them! or The Deadly Mantis could have greatly enhanced his insects' impact.  Without that in place, the live creatures have no ability to react to the artillery the story throws at them, and the creatures scaling of a Chicago skyscraper is unfortunately rendered by filming the grasshoppers at normal size scaling a picture postcard of the building.  However, kids of the era most likely didn't notice those details, and enjoyed the fun nature of the film, which despite the grim tone, is very enjoyable with a good amount of 1950s sci-fi atmosphere.  Graves is very good as the stalwart scientist, with Castle also convincing as the photojournalist who's seen her share of horrors already.  As always in these types of pictures, the casting of Ankrum and Henry as determined military men helps dismiss some of the disbelief that comes with cities in peril at the hands of giant grasshoppers, and Albert Glasser's boldly dramatic score aids in that department as well.

Killers From Space (1954)

Starring Peter Graves, James Seay, Steve Pendleton, Frank Gerstle, Barbara Bestar
Directed by W. Lee Wilder
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An atomic scientist disappears after a plane crash, only to return with no knowledge of where he's been, and an insatiable desire to continue with planned atomic bomb tests.

Peter Graves, in one of his early starring roles, is the main attraction in this low-budget sci-fi film filled with plenty of stock footage.  The actor generates enough intensity to draw us into the tale, and he's supported well by some second or third-tier character actors.  Directed by Billy Wilder's less-esteemed brother, W. Lee, from a story provided by the director's son Myles, the first half of the film isn't badly written, with the mystery behind Graves' character's disappearance setting things up rather nicely.  Ridiculousness however, sets in in the second half, when aliens with bulging eyes and bushy eyebrows are revealed with a plot to invade the Earth and take control with giant-sized insects and lizards, who are rear projected instead of using more costly and convincing animation.  Nonetheless, Graves holds it all together, and although the film can't overcome its limitations, I still have a certain fondness for it.

It Conquered The World (1956)

Starring Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef, Sally Fraser, Russ Bender
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A physicist dissatisfied with the state of the world is contacted by an alien intelligence from Venus, whom he agrees to help take over the Earth for the benefit of humanity.

Although often ridiculed for its low budget and less than convincing alien creature, I've always found this picture to be a fun science fiction thriller, buoyed by terrific performances by Beverly Garland and in particular Lee Van Cleef, whose intensity as the determined physicist anchors the film.  Van Cleef, per Wikipedia, went on to to a distinguished career playing a series of villains in notable westerns, culminating in his role in Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.  Corman paces scenes tightly and efficiently and although the Venusian may elect more laughs than genuine horror, it's certainly unique and memorable.