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Inspired by sci-fi master Ed Wood

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For his first feature, “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra,” writer-director-actor Larry Blamire didn’t draw inspiration from the likes of Howard Hawks or John Ford or even Steven Spielberg. His role model was Ed Wood, the endearingly inept cross-dressing director of such dreadfully wonderful films as “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and “Bride of the Monster.”

Blamire’s black-and-white spoof, which opens Friday at the Nuart for a two-week run, was made in just 10 1/2 days on digital video for a mere $10,000. If you look closely at the long shots of the movie’s alien rocket ship, you’ll notice it was actually made out of a toilet paper roll.

Wood would be proud.

“EBay was our No. 1 source for props,” says Blamire, who grew up in Boston watching ‘50s sci-fi flicks on TV. “I highly recommend them. I bought a box of electrical meters and the Geiger counter.” He even got the title skeleton via the Internet auction house. “It was 90 bucks and was a medical school plastic model for study. That [thing] was heavy.”

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Shot on location in Bronson Canyon, a favorite locale of these films, and Lake Arrowhead in what Blamire calls “the miracle of Skeletorama,” the convoluted plot revolves around a heroic but clueless scientist (Blamire), his ditzy wife (Fay Masterson), an evil scientist (Brian Howe), two harmless aliens (Andrew Parks and Susan McConnell), a sexy cat-woman named Animala (Blamire’s wife, Jennifer Blair), a three-eyed mutant made of papier-mache and the wisecracking skeleton of Cadavra, who are all after “that rarest of all radioactive elements, atmosphereum.”

To make the film more authentic, Blamire scoured a music library in New York that has a rich archive of scores from these sci-fi films. “I went through hours of music,” he says.

The movie went the festival route for more than a year before it was picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Repertory. It opens nationwide March 12.

Blamire just finished a dark comedy in Boston called “Johnny Slade’s Greatest Hits” and has penned the follow-up to “Cadavra,” “The Trail of the Screaming Forehead.”

The cast and crew of “Cadavra” will be appearing at the Nuart at both Friday and Saturday night screenings. The program also includes Ub Iwerks’ vintage cartoon, “Skeleton Frolic!”

-- Susan King

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