Seven Faces of Dr. Lao Movie Review

The mysterious Dr. Lao (Tony Randall) brings his magical circus into the small western town of Abalone and changes the lives of the residents forever. The circus’ attractions include a nearly senile Merlin the Magician, the blind seer Apollonius, an abominable snowman, the god Pan, Medusa, a giant serpent, and a tiny fish which turns out to be the Loch Ness Monster. The line between magic and reality blurs for several Abalonians: shy librarian Barbara Eden sees her secret lover in Pan; a crooked entrepreneur (Arthur O'Connell) finds that he bears an unsettling resemblance to the giant serpent; and the town battleaxe is (temporarily) turned into a statue. Lao closes the show with a none-too-subtle parable about an ancient city that was destroyed by the gods for greed and ingratitude (with footage taken from director Pal's earlier film The Lost Continent). Not as ambitious or strange as the novel that inspired it (Charles Finney's 1935 work, The Circus of Dr. Lao), this is still a charming family film with marvelous special effects and makeup (Randall plays seven characters). Try watching it right after (or before) an Odd Couple marathon. It's fun.

1963 101m/C Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, Lee Patrick, Noah Beery Jr., John Qualen, John Ericson, Minerva Urecal; D: George Pal; W: Charles Beaumont. VHS, Beta, LV MGM