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Gord Green Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 06 Oct 2014 Posts: 3001 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:10 am Post subject: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001) |
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The best 50's Horror / Sci-Fi movie of all time wasn't seen until the early 2000's!
Inspired, inventive and funnier than it has a right to be, Larry Blamire's loopy spoof of 1950s bargain-basement sci-fi and horror knock-offs gets it right where so many well-meaning efforts go wrong.
Shot in Bronson Canyon, Calif., (as seen in the films of Roger Corman and countless episodes of "Star Trek") in dreary black and white and "the wonder of the screen: Skeletorama," Blamire's "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" captures the stupefyingly awkward yet idiotically banal dialogue, secondhand store sci-fi gadgetry and flat, mundane visual style so perfectly that it looks as if it escaped from the drive-ins of yesteryear.
In 1961, scientist Dr. Paul Armstrong (Larry Blamire) and his wife Betty (Fay Masterson) drive into the mountains.
Dr. Armstrong is searching for a meteorite that has fallen in the nearby woods, suspected to contain the rare element atmosphereum.
Another scientist in the area, Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) questions Ranger Brad (Dan Conroy) about Cadavra Cave, a site rumored to contain a "Lost Skeleton."
That evening, both the Armstrongs and Dr. Fleming observe another falling meteor.
A short time later a farmer (Robert Deveau), encountered by the Armstrongs on their way to the cabin, is mutilated by a mysterious beast.
The second meteorite is actually a spaceship carrying two aliens. Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) and Lattis (Susan McConnell) who are from the planet Marva and are now stranded on Earth, in need of the element atmosphereum to repair their powerless ship.
The ship's pet mutant (Darren Reed) escapes from its cage while they are distracted.
The next day, Dr. Roger Fleming finds Cadavra Cave and locates the Lost Skeleton. The Skeleton commands Fleming to bring atmosphereum to return him to life.
Meanwhile, Dr. Armstrong and Betty venture into the woods, discovering the meteorite just outside Cadavra Cave. Dr. Fleming overhears them and plots to steal the meteorite from the pair.
Kro-Bar and Lattis also journey into the woods, locating the cabin with the meteorite. Using a device called the "transmutatron," they disguise themselves as "Earth people" and clumsily manage to talk their way into the cabin, having been mistaken for the property owners.
Not long after they arrive, Dr. Fleming discovers the aliens' transmutatron, left outside the cabin since it would ruin their disguise.
He uses it to create an ally for himself, the alluring Animala (Jennifer Blaire), created from four different animals.
After briefly teaching Animala the basics of human interaction, he leads her to the cabin and convinces the Armstrongs to invite him inside.
Soon it becomes clear to Lattis and Kro-Bar (calling themselves "Turgaso" and "Bammin" on Earth in an effort to pass as earth humans) that Fleming knows their secret.
They soon cooperate in stealing the meteorite, after Betty is psychically attacked by the Skeleton and Dr. Armstrong is entranced by Animala's dancing.
The evil scientist tricks the pair, however, and the Skeleton uses his mind powers to freeze the aliens in their tracks once Dr. Fleming has the meteorite. Dr. Fleming and Animala soon use the atmosphereum to resurrect the Skeleton.
Meanwhile, Betty, waiting for Dr. Armstrong to come back, encounters the Mutant, who appears to fall in love with her, but she is terrified and faints.
While Fleming and Animala are resurrecting the skeleton, Armstrong arrives and encounters the unfrozen aliens. They also find Betty, who has realized that the mutant has some sort of feelings for her.
After bonding over a meal, the four head off to try to obtain the meteorite before it can be used to resurrect the skeleton, but they are attacked by the Mutant. Dr. Armstrong is injured in the fight, but realizes that the monster does not want to harm Betty.
Armstrong and his wife return to the cabin to recover, while the aliens try to stop Fleming on their own. However, they are captured by the skeleton's mind powers, and forced to dance by his psychic powers.
The Skeleton uses his mental powers to force Lattis into becoming his bride, much to Kro-Bar's chagrin. The Skeleton mocks everyone, including Fleming, but keeps them in line with his telepathy.
When Armstrong sees what is going on, he comes up with a plan to get Betty to lure the Mutant to the wedding to disrupt it. After getting the Mutant to follow them, Armstrong and Betty attack Fleming and Animala. During the fight, the Skeleton kills Fleming after the latter is beaten by Armstrong.
The Mutant then arrives at the wedding and attacks the Skeleton, whose powers do not affect beings with as simple minds as the Mutant. They instead fight until the Skeleton is thrown over a cliff, smashing apart on impact.
The mutant then succumbs to its injuries and dies. Animala is turned back into the animals she originally was via the transmutatron.
The alien and human couples spout traditional homilies about different species working together in harmony, then go to retrieve the atmosphereum.
Adapted from an early silent film this version at least has sound!
The 20's version from youtube :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caI0Q3cDvnw
This film has spawned not only a fan club....
But also a Rocky Horror tradition of late Mid-night performances in full costume.
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is a 2001 independent science-fiction parody film directed by Larry Blamire. The film is a spoof of B movies released during the 1950s. The film was videotaped on a budget of less than US$100,000, and was converted to black-and-white film in post-production. Larry Blamire acted in and directed the film, wrote its screenplay, and provided the voice of the film's titular Skeleton. Jennifer Blaire, who performs Animala, is Blamire's wife.
(Some plot points adapted from Wikapedia)
The trailer for this movie is on Youtube here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MMvs3oVqFk
AND....A documentary on this film can be seen here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRdVVLw3jn8&t=58s _________________ There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
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Custer Space Sector Commander

Joined: 22 Aug 2015 Posts: 929 Location: Earth
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:52 am Post subject: |
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Interesting to see that Fay Masterson was involved in that movie. Wikipedia dates the movie as 2004, so it was one of four films she was in that year. She "is currently playing the role of ship's Chief Engineer, LCDR Andrea Garnett on TNT's The Last Ship," which perhaps takes its science fiction a bit more seriously.
Here's a recent picture of the lady, with one of her fans:
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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I have this one in my DVD collection. The trailer on YouTube reminded me of some of the good writing...
"Aliens? Us? Is this one of your 'Earth jokes'?"
"From the company that gave you Zombies of Mora Tau and Lawrence of Arabia" _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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alltare Quantum Engineer

Joined: 17 Jul 2015 Posts: 349
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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Those are very funny lines, Orzel. Another good one went something like,
"This could mean great advances in the field of SCIENCE!" |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2024 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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________________________________
What a terrific post, Gord! I've never seen this movie, and now I'm itchin' to do so. Thanks!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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WadeVC Astral Engineer

Joined: 06 Aug 2024 Posts: 255 Location: Pioneer, CA
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Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2024 8:58 am Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | What a terrific post, Gord! I've never seen this movie, and now I'm itchin' to do so. Thanks!  |
I've never seen or even heard of this one neither. Much like Bud, I am on the lookout for it now. _________________ "You look like a pooped out pinwheel."
-Robot Monster |
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Maurice Starship Navigator

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 542 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2024 5:22 am Post subject: |
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Friends and I saw this movie together in Berkeley when it came out. I just realized I must've written about this film on my old old blog, and sure enough, here's what I had to say about it then: Quote: |
Friday, 20 February 2004
FILM: Plan 9 from Tristar Pictures
Topic: Cinema
I'm on the biggest roll of films I've done in a long time. Last night was another excursion to the land on cinema, this time to see the best bad movie I've seen in a long time.
I'm one of those people who really enjoys the ineptness of grade-Z exploitation pictures by the likes of William ("One Shot") Beaudine and the legendary Ed Wood. I love them for their very earnestness and ineptness. As such, I've always found homages and parodies of them to be a painful experiences because the knowing winks of the sendup perpetrators undermine the humor that comes from the absolute conviction of the form. Amazon Women on the Moon suffers from this in spades, becoming more tedious than the worst Ed Wood film imaginable.
Knowing this, it was with some trepidation that I joined my friends Christopher & Russ in attending The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (one review and official website), a film which is in parts send-up, homage, and recreation of one of those zero-budget cheapies. Lost Skeleton suffers somewhat from these problems, and at times I winced, but for some reason I found myself laughing out loud, not usually at the obvious funny bits, but often at the end of a scene, where the cumulative absurdity would hit me. The film is written by someone who clearly enjoys these clunkers for the same reason I do, and that affection is obvious throughout. The love is in the lack of detail, from the wood grain of the 2x4 visible in a spaceship hatch, the circular and repetative dialog, cheapo props, to the garage made rubber monster suit and titular skeleton operated by painfully visible wires.
True to the genre, Lost Skeleton sags in the middle, and there were points where the it played "Nudge Nudge Wink Wink" too much. Such smug "we're in on the joke" moments derailed the film momentarily. The cinematography, even for a cheapie, was surprisingly neutral. The skin tones were disturbingly midtone gray. I cried, "My kingdom for a highlight!" but none was forthcoming.
Looking back, I still don't think Lost Skeleton was really that funny. Yet as we left we were quoting the inane lines and laughing our fool heads off. There's nothing inherently funny about "I sleep now!" and "Oh well," and yet, that's what we were reciting. Such is the power of lame dialog...
I'll probably buy the DVD. "Oh Well!" |
_________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles |
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Gord Green Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 06 Oct 2014 Posts: 3001 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2024 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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If you liked this movie check out ATTACK OF THE KILLER CRABGRASS ! On ALL SCI-FI here :
https://www.allsci-fi.com/viewtopic.php?t=397&highlight=
We'd love to hear your comments! _________________ There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child. |
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