"The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" is a spoof of 1950s sci-fi B-movies of a particular sort. The kind with stoic "men of science" who, with their supportive and well-coiffed (if not particularly bright) girlfriends, brave overwhelming odds as they fight weird aliens, mad robots, giant bugs or anthropomorphized tomatoes in order to save the world. They are bad, these movies. So bad they often break the wall of true wretched ineptitude and become good, or at least entertaining. "The Lost Skeleton" is insanely entertaining, though it's difficult to discern exactly why. It's every bit as stupid as the films it spoofs. It has no production value, the acting is absolutely leaden and the story line is ludicrous. Of course, all of that is the point.

   Dr. Paul Armstrong (writer/director/star Larry Blamire) and his ditzy bottle-blonde wife, Betty (Fay Masterson), are on the road to a remote cabin where Paul, a meteor specialist, hopes to find an "astral rock" and its central radioactive element, "atmospherium." Then things get really nutty. A group of aliens lose their mutant pet, which is fused with several woodland creatures by a mad scientist using a wacky raygun that looks like a super-soaker water pistol. One of his Dr. Moreau-esque abominations is the cat-like Animala (Jennifer Blaire), who has semi-human qualities and amazing interpretive dance skills. There are a lot of deadpan deliveries, bad sets and foil-covered props. They are all hysterical and, hopefully, all deliberate. Oh, and there's a skeleton, whose role in the film is almost as pointless as its role in the title.

   Blamire is plainly a connoisseur of these B-Grade movies, and his adoration leads him to incredibly meticulous recreations of the camp qualities of the genre. He's a kind of self-aware Ed Wood--without the angora fetish. Starring Larry Blamire, Fay Masterson and Andrew Parks. Directed and written by Larry Blamire. Produced by Miguel Valenti. A TriStar release. Rated PG for brief mild language. Running time: 90 min