7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)

7 Faces of Dr. Lao

Produced and Directed by George Pal
Starring
Tony Randall
Barbara Eden
Arthur O’Connell
John Ericson
Noah Beery Jr.

The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it. The way the sun goes down when you're tired, comes up when you want to be on the move. That's real magic. The way a leaf grows. The song of the birds. The way the desert looks at night, with the moon embracing it. Oh, my boy, that's... that's circus enough for anyone. Every time you watch a rainbow and feel wonder in your heart. Every time you pick up a handful of dust, and see not the dust, but a mystery, a marvel, there in your hand. Every time you stop and think, "I'm alive, and being alive is fantastic!" Every time such a thing happens, you're part of the Circus of Dr. Lao.

When Dr. Lao was initially released in 1964, it came and went through the theaters like a puff of smoke with little fanfare and not much notice. But I certainly remember it. Wouldn’t any kid? It had just about everything an eleven year old kid would want in a movie: fantasy, magic, magicians, a man that was half animal, a blind fortune teller, mysterious things going on, and a fish out of water like you ain’t never seen before or since.

Now as an adult, I still appreciate the film but even more. After all of these years and quite a few viewings, I can appreciate the fine craftsmanship by George Pal which makes this film the fantasy classic it has become. If you have never met Dr. Lao (Tony Randall) now is as good of a time as any for you to become acquainted.

In the sleepy Western town of Abalone a stranger arrives. He appears to be of Chinese descent, is riding what looks like a golden burro and his only possessions seem to be a small fish in a goldfish bowl and his pipe. No, he doesn’t have any matches either because as he rides into town we see him light the pipe with his thumb. Dr. Lao has come to place an ad in the local newspaper to perhaps entice the good citizens to come watch his circus. We soon find out the newspaper is owned by Ed Cunningham (John Ericson) and is operated with help from his friend Tim Mitchell (Noah Beery Jr.) But before Dr. Lao can place the order for his ad, Clint Stark, who seems to own everything and everybody in some form or fashion, stops in for a visit. We find out that Stark is intent on buying everybody in town at the same time that Ed is writing editorials trying convince the town citizenry not to sell. Why Stark wants to buy everybody out isn’t clear, but we do know he is up to no good.

We also find out in short order that Ed is in love with the widowed librarian, Angela Benedict (Barbara Eden). I think all widowed women in movies from the sixties had to be the town librarian and they were also inclined to be somewhat frigid. I think there was some kind of rule about it.

The second rule is that the widow is not allowed to be in love with the guy who is in love with her. The usual reason for this is that said widow is still pining after her dead husband and she doesn’t think any man can ever take his place or be her a father to her child. Either that or she doesn’t really trust the guy who is making a play for her. This is known as The Music Man rule and was first instituted by Shirley Jones as Marian the Librarian. But again, I digress.

Original Trailer
Uploaded by Clyde’s Place

At a town meeting, we find out that (supposedly) the town’s water line is breaking down and that it will cost over $200,000 to replace. I don’t know how much that would be in 21st century money but my guess is it would be about $200 gazillion billion. Obviously we’re not talking about chump change here. Instead of the towns people having to foot the bill for a new waterline, Stark has offered to buy their homes. He says it’s cause at heart he is a good guy. Uh….huh. Everybody in town seems to be willing to hand over their deeds to the ranch right there and then but two people at the meeting doth protest. Guess which two.

So begrudgingly Stark gives everybody a couple of days to make up their minds, which coincidentally is the exact amount of time that Dr. Lao’s circus is to be in town. We can pretty well surmise that he will be working a little magic to save Abalone.

Did I say a little magic? You better make that a few dump truck loads of magic to brighten up the day of these miserable inhabitants of the Hooterville of the West. Except for the aforementioned Librarian and family and the two newspaper guys, these people are a miserable lot. You have to almost wonder why someone like Dr. Lao would even want to waste his time on them. But there are clues here and there that perhaps they weren’t always this way and maybe at least some of them aren’t beyond redemption.

It is here that we meet the other faces of Dr. Lao including The Abominable Snow Man, Merlin, Medusa, The Giant Serpent, Appalonius of Tyana, and Pan. All of them played exceptionally by Tony Randall. Yes, the terrific makeup by William Tuttle which won a special academy award helps but make no mistake about it. It is Randall who breathes life into these characters and makes them what they are in what I still think is easily his finest film after having watched him play mostly second banana to Rock Hudson previously.

And each character interacts with a member of the town in just the way you would expect them to, and the result is not always pleasant and not everybody can be redeemed such as when one woman has her fortune told by Appalonius. It is his curse to not only tell fortunes but he must tell the truth no matter what. And for a moment we have to admit that at first we take a small amount of delight in this particular’s character being told the truth but it is only momentarily because as the scene plays out, we begin to feel nothing but pity for the poor woman.

There is a terrific scene between Stark and The Giant Serpent. In essence, it’s a test to see who is really in a cage, who is not, and who is truly the evil one.

Pan’s Seduction
Uploaded by Clyde’s Place

And then there is a scene between Pan and Angela Benedict that has to be seen to be appreciated. As a kid, I’m sure that the goings on between the two went right over my head. How was I to know he was doing more with that flute than playing some snappy music? But I sure get it now. Yet, they share very little if any physical contact during the scene. Barbara Eden has never ever done been better. There certainly wasn't anything similar when she was wearing a harem outfit on I Dream of Jeanie.

Even with all of that the film could still have been so so, but the script by Charles Beaumont makes every one of these encounters amount to something. These particular scenes are not here just to show off great makeup and special effects. They are here to make a point about the citizens of Abalone, and often about mankind as well. In some movies such as this, witticisms and proverbs can be pointless and laid on too often and too thick until they become silly. You need only to read my opening quote to understand the care given in writing the script so that it never becomes to preachy and heavy handed.

And yes, the message the film is trying to entail is obvious to anybody who is watching. But maybe it’s the obvious ones that we often need to be reminded of because sometimes we can’t see exactly what is right in front of our nose.  It’s really a shame that this movie was never given the credit it deserved at the time of its release. Because of that, George Pal was never given another chance to direct.


As the movie plays out, there is a lot more that comes into play then I went into here as I don’t want to give everything away. But if you’ve never seen the 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and if you enjoy a well made fantasy film, this may just turn out to be your cup of tea. It was not only my cup, but it was the cream in my coffee as well, not to mention that Angela’s son Mike is one of the less annoying kids you’ll see in a film. So when a fantasy film magically puts all these ingredients together, I have no choice but to give it my grade which is an enchanted A.