History Film / SevenFacesOfDrLao

The film greatly altered the plot and softened the mordant tone of the original novel, opting rather for a sense of whimsy and wonder, reflected in the score by Leigh Harline, best known for scoring Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' and ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''. Unfortunately, despite an extraordinary performance by Randall and some (though not all) of the other cast (Kevin Tate as Mike is a stand-out), and the admirable visual effects -- for which SFX artist Jim Danforth received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination and makeup artist William Tuttle an Honorary [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] -- the film has something of the feel of a made-for-TV movie, exacerbated by the use of stock footage from ''Atlantis, the Lost Continent'' and ''Film/{{The Time Machine|1960}}'', with unconvincing interspersed shots of the cast in ancient costume. It did not do well when it came out, but as the years have gone by, it has come into its own, and is now widely regarded as a fantasy classic.

''7 Faces of Dr. Lao'' is a 1964 fantasy film from {{Creator/MGM}}, [[FilmOfTheBook based on]] the 1935 novel ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal, and starring Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, and Tony Randall in a ''tour de force'' [[DoubleVision performance]] as the eponymous Chinese showman, the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Abominable Snowman]], [[BlindSeer Apollonius of Tyana]], the Giant Serpent, [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Medusa]], [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Merlin the Magician]], [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Pan]], and [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo an unmade-up, anonymous, and silent member]] of his own audience.

''7 Faces of Dr. Lao'' is a 1964 fantasy film from [[MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], [[FilmOfTheBook based on]] the 1935 novel ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal, and starring Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, and Tony Randall in a ''tour de force'' [[DoubleVision performance]] as the eponymous Chinese showman, the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Abominable Snowman]], [[BlindSeer Apollonius of Tyana]], the Giant Serpent, [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Medusa]], [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Merlin the Magician]], [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Pan]], and [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo an unmade-up, anonymous, and silent member]] of his own audience.

-->'''Edward Cunningham:''' Hey! How come you speak perfect English all of a sudden?\\
-->'''Doctor Lao:''' Oh, it comes and goes. Whatever dialect the mood requires.\\
-->'''Cunningham:''' Oh, it just comes and goes?\\

* FingerSnapLighter

The film greatly altered the plot and softened the mordant tone of the original novel, opting rather for a sense of whimsy and wonder, reflected in the score by Leigh Harline, best known for scoring Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' and ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''. Unfortunately, despite an extraordinary performance by Randall and some (though not all) of the other cast (Kevin Tate as Mike is a stand-out), and the admirable visual effects -- for which SFX artist Jim Danforth received an AcademyAward nomination and makeup artist William Tuttle an Honorary [[AcademyAward Oscar]] -- the film has something of the feel of a made-for-TV movie, exacerbated by the use of stock footage from ''Atlantis, the Lost Continent'' and ''Film/{{The Time Machine|1960}}'', with unconvincing interspersed shots of the cast in ancient costume. It did not do well when it came out, but as the years have gone by, it has come into its own, and is now widely regarded as a fantasy classic.

''7 Faces of Dr. Lao'' is a 1964 fantasy film from [[MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], [[FilmOfTheBook based on]] the 1935 novel ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal, and starring Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, and Tony Randall in a ''tour de force'' [[DoubleVision performance]] as the eponymous Chinese showman, the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Abominable Snowman]], [[BlindSeer Apollonius of Tyana]], the Giant Serpent, [[ClassicalMythology Medusa]], [[{{Merlin}} Merlin the Magician]], [[ClassicalMythology Pan]], and [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo an unmade-up, anonymous, and silent member]] of his own audience.

* FakeNationality: The Chinese Lao (not to mention the Turkish Apollonius, British Merlin, Greek Pan and Medusa, and Nepalese Snowman) are all played by European-American Randall. No wonder his accent "comes and goes."

-->'''Fat Cowboy:''' ...[[AllAsiansAreAlike Looks like a]] ''[[AllAsiansAreAlike Jap]]'' [[AllAsiansAreAlike to me]].

* AllAsiansAreAlike: As emphasized thus:
-->'''Fat Cowboy:''' ...[[AllAsiansAreAlike Looks like a]] ''[[AllAsiansAreAlike Jap]]'' [[AllAsiansAreAlike to me]].
-->'''Toothless Cowboy:''' Naaaw. He's Chinese.
-->'''Fat Cowboy:''' How do you know?
-->'''Toothless Cowboy:''' 'Cause I ain't stupid!

* HenpeckedHusband: Mr. Lindquist; happily, his wife appears to take Dr. Lao's lesson to heart.
* HeyItsThatGuy: Besides [[TheOddCouple Tony Randall]] as Dr. Lao and [[IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]] as Angela, Stark (Arthur O’Connell) is [[TheGreatRace Mr. Goodbody]], the mayor (Frank Cady) is [[GreenAcres Sam Drucker]], Mr. Lindquist (John Qualen) is [[{{Casablanca}} Berger, the Norwegian]] and Mrs. Lindquist is Ma Kettle.

* FakeNationality: The Chinese Lao (not to mention the Turkish Apollonius, British Merlin, Greek Pan and Medusa, and Nepalese Snowman) are all played by European-American Randall. No wonder his accent (''See'' [[OohMeAccentsSlipping Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping]], ''below'') "comes and goes."
** It's implied that Lao is a near-immortal {{Everyman}} who can shapeshift and gendershift as the role requires to teach much-needed Aesops.

''7 Faces of Dr. Lao'' is a 1964 fantasy film from [[MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], [[FilmOfTheBook based on]] the 1935 novel ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal, and starring Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, and Tony Randall in a ''tour de force'' [[DoubleVision performance]] as the eponymous Chinese showman, the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Abominable Snowman]], [[BlindSeer Apollonius of Tyana]], the Giant Serpent, [[ClassicalMythology Medusa]], [[KingArthur Merlin the Magician]], [[ClassicalMythology Pan]], and [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo an unmade-up, anonymous, and silent member]] of his own audience.

[[folder:Synopsis]]
To the dying Arizona town of Abalone comes the mysterious Dr. Lao (Randall) to announce in the local newspaper the advent of his wonderful circus. The editor, Ed Cunningham (Jon Ericson) is engaged in a double struggle: to gain the affections of repressed young widow Angela Benedict (Barbara Eden) and to convince the townspeople not to give up and sell out to cynical local magnate Clint Stark (Arthur O'Connell). Nevertheless, he is also intrigued by the mysterious Lao and his circus, which seems at first to consist only of the doctor, his yellow jackass, and a fish in a bowl -- but which hours later has mushroomed into an entire carnival of marvelous exhibits.

Over the next three days the citizens of Abalone have life-altering encounters with the denizens of the circus, which culminate in the spectacle of the destruction of the ancient Atlantis-like civilization of Woldercan, due to its strangely familiar citizens' giving in to the blandishments of a mysterious tempter who strongly resembles Stark. Meanwhile, Stark's thuggish mooks drunkenly attempt to destroy Lao's circus, inadvertently releasing his pet fish/Loch Ness monster, which chases them out of town and is recaptured only with difficulty by Lao and Angela's young son, Mike (Kevin Tate).

The townspeople, shaken by what Lao has shown them, vote not to sell out to Stark -- who thanks them for restoring his faith in humanity, and reveals that a new railroad will soon come through, bringing prosperity back to Abalone. With Stark and the town redeemed, and Ed and Angela now safely a couple, Lao's work is done, and he vanishes, only his voice remaining to remind Mike that life itself is the truly wonderful thing.
[[/folder]]

The film greatly altered the plot and softened the mordant tone of [[Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao the original novel]], opting rather for a sense of whimsy and wonder, reflected in the score by Leigh Harline, best known for scoring {{Disney}}'s ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' and ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''. Unfortunately, despite an extraordinary performance by Randall and some (though not all) of the other cast (Kevin Tate as Mike is a stand-out), and the admirable visual effects -- for which SFX artist Jim Danforth received an AcademyAward nomination and makeup artist William Tuttle an Honorary [[AcademyAward Oscar]] -- the film has something of the feel of a made-for-TV movie, exacerbated by the use of stock footage from ''Atlantis, the Lost Continent'' and ''[[Film/TheTimeMachine1960 The Time Machine]]'', with unconvincing interspersed shots of the cast in ancient costume. It did not do well when it came out, but as the years have gone by, it has come into its own, and is now widely regarded as a fantasy classic.

The film greatly altered the plot and softened the mordant tone of [[Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao the original novel]], opting rather for a sense of whimsy and wonder, reflected in the score by Leigh Harline, best known for scoring {{Disney}}'s ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' and ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''. Unfortunately, despite an extraordinary performance by Randall and some (though not all) of the other cast (Kevin Tate as Mike is a stand-out), and the admirable visual effects -- for which SFX artist Jim Danforth received an AcademyAward nomination and makeup artist William Tuttle an Honorary [[AcademyAward Oscar]] -- the film has something of the feel of a made-for-TV movie, exacerbated by the use of stock footage from ''Atlantis, the Lost Continent'' and ''TheTimeMachine'', with unconvincing interspersed shots of the cast in ancient costume. It did not do well when it came out, but as the years have gone by, it has come into its own, and is now widely regarded as a fantasy classic.

The film greatly altered the plot and softened the mordant tone of [[TheCircusOfDoctorLao the original novel]], opting rather for a sense of whimsy and wonder, reflected in the score by Leigh Harline, best known for scoring {{Disney}}'s ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' and ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}''. Unfortunately, despite an extraordinary performance by Randall and some (though not all) of the other cast (Kevin Tate as Mike is a stand-out), and the admirable visual effects -- for which SFX artist Jim Danforth received an AcademyAward nomination and makeup artist William Tuttle an Honorary [[AcademyAward Oscar]] -- the film has something of the feel of a made-for-TV movie, exacerbated by the use of stock footage from ''Atlantis, the Lost Continent'' and ''TheTimeMachine'', with unconvincing interspersed shots of the cast in ancient costume. It did not do well when it came out, but as the years have gone by, it has come into its own, and is now widely regarded as a fantasy classic.

'''''7 Faces of Dr. Lao''''' is a 1964 fantasy film from [[MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]], [[FilmOfTheBook based on]] the 1935 novel ''TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' by Charles G. Finney, directed by George Pal, and starring Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, and Tony Randall in a ''tour de force'' [[DoubleVision performance]] as the eponymous Chinese showman, the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Abominable Snowman]], [[BlindSeer Apollonius of Tyana]], the Giant Serpent, [[ClassicalMythology Medusa]], [[KingArthur Merlin the Magician]], [[ClassicalMythology Pan]], and [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo an unmade-up, anonymous, and silent member]] of his own audience.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]; Cunningham notes that Dr. Lao suddenly switches from a heavy, stereotypical Chinese accent to perfect English. Dr. Lao replies, "Oh, it comes and goes. Whatever dialect the mood requires."

* HeyItsThatGuy: Besides [[TheOddCouple Tony Randall]] as Dr. Lao and [[IDreamOfJeannie Barbara Eden]] as Angela, Stark (Arthur O’Connell) is [[TheGreatRace Mr. Goodbody]], the mayor (Frank Cady) is [[GreenAcres Sam Drucker]], and Mr. Lindquist (John Qualen) is [[{{Casablanca}} Berger, the Norwegian]].